


The One Time She Was...

by HecoHansen31



Series: 'Cause Maybe I'd Still Feel Alive Without You [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Mention of Blood/Bullet Wounds, Mention of Slight ED, Mention of fatshaming, Probably OOC! Jason and Bruce and Damian, Start In Media Res, Suggestive Themes, abusive families, mention of anxiety, mention of violence, profanities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 67,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28391541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HecoHansen31/pseuds/HecoHansen31
Summary: When Jason leaves, Laurel is suddenly forced to create new bonds and test herself and her beliefs.
Relationships: Jason Todd/Original Female Character(s)
Series: 'Cause Maybe I'd Still Feel Alive Without You [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028177
Comments: 14
Kudos: 21





	1. When You Aren't There

**Author's Note:**

> (A/N): Hello there, lovelies!
> 
> I am truly bad at this... because this chapter is utter shit... like deep shit...
> 
> It should have been pretty different, because I had originally thought of writing only one-shot, but guess you’ll get another four chapters-fic because I love you and I can’t stop myself from writing.
> 
> My idea was to be able to pubblsh something for the 31st, because technically the last chapter should have been set up on the 31st, which I won’t be able to respect, but I do hope you’ll forget me.
> 
> I focused on Laurel a bit more in this chapter and her slowly building a bond with the Batfamily, but also you’ll get a bit of Jason being an idiot and just exhausted with Laurel.
> 
> Either way I do hope that you’ll like this and if you do end up liking it, never forget to leave a like, or more importantly a comment or a reblog, that would help me greatly about knowing if you like this kind of content.  
> Also I never mention it, but if you’d like to be in my taglist for the series, just send me a message or an ask!  
> Have a nice reading, sweetheart!
> 
> (And happy holidays again!).

“I know you didn't ask for it

I know you didn't need my love

You thought you were immune to it

And now I've got you all fucked up

And I can tell you like too

And if I fall, I fall with you

My veins are what you're running through (through through, through)

And now I'm fucked up”

[ _**‘Fucked Up’ by Bahari** _ ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcuHDU1nrxJg&t=ZGQwNzRkN2FjYjllZjMxMDJkMThlZjcxY2VjYTIzZmQ3OTRhYjljYyw5NTFiMTlmYjMwYjAxNTM0M2ViZmQwMTQ2N2I2Y2U0NDI3ZTRjZGIy&ts=1609192012)

Technically Laurel had thought that Jason’s departure would have been a rather awful time.

And partially it was.

But strangely she found herself slowly worming her way in the Batfamily.

She had taken to calling them that way.

And he fact that she knew that Jason would have hated that name, just made reinforced that notion in her mind.

_‘We aren’t a family’_ he had muttered once, talking about them _‘… just a bunch of idiots with shared trauma’._

_‘You just described any Netflix found-family drama I have ever watched’._

The first one who had come to Laurel had obviously been Bruce, on Monday.

Which had left her at least the Sunday after the whole ‘icicle in the shoulder’ incident to collect after herself and clean up your whole house.

She also had at least a few crying fits at the thought of being so fucking close to a confession from Jason and just being left on hanging.

Pearl had noticed her sad mood and had tried to lighten it up, saying that she knew that ‘Jensen would be home soon’ and that ‘you, both, could finally have a girls-night, without any thought of a jealous boyfriend or such…’.

But the truth was that Laurel had exited the police station with dread in her eyes, after that conversation.

Just to be faced with Bruce Wayne waiting out of her apartment.

That certainly woke her up quickly.

_‘Turn around, start running, move to Mexico and just change your name to Rosalinda’._

_‘Shakespeare? Nice’_ would have said Jason had he been by her side.

Except he wasn’t.

Fuck, it was worse than she had thought.

But was there anything that an intense rewatch of ‘Criminal Minds’ couldn’t solve?

~~Probably Giblinson’s marital problems.~~

“Mrs. Cellini” shit, he had made eye contact with her.

“Mr. Wayne… it’s a… pleasure?” that wasn’t supposed to be a question.

And Bruce’s grudgy expression suddenly became a small smirk.

Shit, she now knew who Jason had learnt his shit-eating smile from.

“It’s a pleasure for me, too” well, at least they matched in eloquence.

“… would you… ahem… like to come inside?” ‘please say no, because I did clean everything, but also I am pretty sure that the whole bottle of vodka I consumed last night is still in full view on table’.

“If it isn’t a problem” and then the shit-eating smirk became a more serious expression “… I do think that we have a few things to discuss”.

_‘I haven’t deflowered Jason, I swear… I mean… I do think it’s more the other way around…’._

“Of course” Laurel basically just pushed herself against the door, as she tried to fight with the key in her trembling hands, trying to tell herself that she hadn’t done anything to deserve Batman’s wrath and that Jason probably had put a good word for her to avoid any misunderstanding between her and his ex-father figure.

She moved inside, leaving Bruce at the coat-hanger, then proceeding quickly towards the kitchen island, to get the bottle of vodka in the bin and hiding it with a few of paper swipes she had used for her thorough cleaning, the previous day.

Shit, Jason made it seem easier.

“You have a lovely home” Bruce commented, joining Laurel in the kitchen island, where she tried to busy herself with thinking about what she could offer to a billionaire who probably only drank champagne.

_‘… and blood’_ would have added Jason.

If she was starting to have hallucinations of Jason, Laurel might need to reconsider her predicament about ‘Criminal Minds’ solving everything.

Her therapist would certainly hear an earful from Laurel, the following day.

Sadly, her kitchen didn’t reveal to have too much she could offer, mostly since she had been wanting to go grocery shopping the following day, finishing the few last things in the kitchen that night.

Bruce coughed to alert Laurel of his presence, and she turned around to smile at him, eventually pulling her head out of the cardboard although all she wanted to do was to push herself in the small space and hide in it, till Bruce eventually got too annoyed with everything

“… I can… offer you… cranberry juice…”.

Bruce shook his head, for which Laurel was grateful, because it was the only liquid that was in her house at the moment.

Fuck, she needed to seriously go grocery shopping tomorrow.

“I don’t want to seem rude, but I also think that in cases like this it is even more annoying to go around the subject” commented Bruce and Laurel wasn’t able to escape his gaze, as it zeroed on her.

She was going to die.

“What you have witnessed a few nights ago isn’t to leave this room, I hope you understand the need for secrecy in cases like this”.

Honestly, who would have believed her?

During her first week there, Vicky Vale had asked to meet her, wanting to know why ‘the daughter of one of the most famous actresses of Hollywood chose to move in Gotham, where the sun never seemed to shine’.

And Laurel had kindly told her to fuck off.

“I never intended to do otherwise” Laurel knew that her voice was much harsher than she had molded it to be, mostly because the words were cutting and even Bruce lightly pushed himself back a bit, his hands leaving the table on which they had been laid onto.

“I didn’t mean to offend you” and she honestly understood that.

But his words were definitely offensive.

“… it isn’t in my intention to put obstacles on the road of the people who make sure that Gotham is a better place…” she hadn’t ever been that attentive to the words that she chose as her eyes met again Bruce, finding some kind of approval in them “… so, my mouth is sealed”.

That was definitely approval, shining in his eyes.

And fuck, if it didn’t make her feel all warm inside.

~~Those were definitely her daddy issues acting up.~~

“Thank you, I appreciate it” he muttered, sober and attentive and Laurel half expected him to simply go away, having worse matters than this to handle, since she must be a small point in his business plans “… I also know that I can trust you”.

“Because you dug up a lot about me?”.

Laurel had never been this sassy.

Why did her mind suddenly think that it was okay to do it with Bruce Wayne, billionaire philanthropist and vigilantes by night?

It was Jason’s awful influence.

Did he by now know that Bruce had come to her?

Had he said anything about her to him to convince him not to give her the shovel talk?

Technically talking, they weren’t even together.

She honestly wanted to have him here, half to strangle him, half to have him hold her hands and reassure her, as he always did whenever he knew that she felt uncomfortable.

Which was the understatement of the century since she felt like throwing up from anxiety, faced with his adoptive father.

Thankfully Bruce spared her.

Any pretense of the ‘dark knight’ having disappeared from his face as he regarded her attentively, but much more relaxedly, as if he was facing somebody he knew.

“… partly” well, the worst that he could have found about her was the fact that she had once tried to suggest the answer to one of her friends just to be caught by the teacher meanwhile she was doing that “… but also because Jason seems to trust you”.

Jason, not Red Hood.

He was indeed trusting her.

Because of Jason.

“… Jason trusts with difficulty, so to know that he trusts somebody enough to let them meet his family is enough for me to know that his judgement can be trusted and the person is loyal enough to know our family’s secret”.

That confession felt strange.

Because she had a completely different thought about Bruce trusting Jason.

According to Jason, Bruce thought of him as a rabid dog.

One that couldn’t be trusted and that was extremely harmful.

So, it felt strange for Laurel to know that Bruce trusted Jason enough to believe his judgement about who could be trusted and who couldn’t.

She must have been silent for too long since Bruce looked at her with a bit of worry in his eyes, as if he was used to people shielding their emotions away, losing themselves in them.

Like she was doing in that moment.

“… you should tell him” Laurel simply mumbled “… I think that Jason would appreciate it”.

“I…” he seemed again taken aback, before a small smirk made its way on his face “… I’ll pay you by the way for your time spent…”.

And he got out a checkbook, making Laurel’s eyes go big.

Fuck fuck fuck.

“There is no need to” it was obvious, and almost rushed, as if the thought of money offended more than the one of Bruce having checked her up, before coming there “… I… I mean… I didn’t do it for money or… Jason…”.

That was a lie.

“… I did it because I thought it was right”.

Because she also trusted Jason’s judgement.

She trusted him more than she did of herself.

That’s why she trusted his compliments.

But not his emotions.

And the distance he constantly put between them.

A light shadow passed onto her face at that thought and she lowered her eyes away from Bruce, knowing that a light sadness would have appeared in them and as much as she knew that not many things could be hidden to ‘the greatest detective’, she wanted at least this small privacy.

And Bruce allowed it, lightly shifting his eyes away, as he put back his checkbook.

But Laurel noticed the way his eyes twinkled lightly.

Had that been a proof?

She wasn’t certainly surviving this family.

Her anxiety was over the roof, already.

“… can never be too sure” muttered Bruce lightly, his eyes being lightly apologetical, as Laurel simply shot him an annoyed look, before smirking as well.

“Jason literally always offers to pay for everything, so I guess now I know after who he gets it”.

This time it was Bruce who looked definitely shocked by her admission.

And Laurel’ sass came back at full force.

“… you look much more similar than you thought”.

“Don’t tell him or he’ll start threatening you and from what I have gathered Damian, my youngest, has a slight admiration for you”.

That was a normal discourse.

That was nice.

She could handle something like this.

“… honestly, he is all bark and no bite” ‘please do tell your son to express his emotions in a healthy way that doesn’t involve moving away from me each time we get close’.

Bruce did a horrible job of hiding his surprise at the ease with which you talked about Jason.

Before smirking knowingly.

She had just confessed to the father of her crush that she liked him.

~~Fuck.~~

“… they all are that way” mumbled Bruce, as he shot a quick look at his watch, probably worth her entire annual salary at the CGPD.

~~She should have accepted the bribing.~~

“… which reminds me, I have to sadly cut this early, since Cassandra finishes her dancing lessons in ten minutes” he mumbled and honestly Laurel’s daddy issues just intensified a bit, bringing back some kind of ache in her stomach for the father she had never known.

She would have told Jason to honestly appreciate his batdad, a bit more.

Just for the shenanigans of the name.

“… and also, before I forget…” he got out a small card from one of the pocket of the ‘casual jacket’ he was wearing, leaving on the kitchen island as some kind of middle ground between him and Laurel “… Damian has told me that if you are interested, he’d love to have you over on Friday to finish the movie you started, when he came here”.

Were you being accepted in the family by the father of your crush?

Were you even going to survive the anxiety of meeting them on their own ground?

Bruce definitely saw the uneasiness on her face, tinged with a bit of shyness.

And again, that paternal smirk reappeared making Laurel feel a bit more comfortable.

She went again breathing on air, instead of chocking on it.

“Think about it, ok, Laurel?”.

“I will”.

And only after he was outside of the door, she grabbed the card.

Did she even have any better plan for Friday?

* * *

So, obviously the second person of the Batfamily she bonded with was Damian.

That Friday she had actually been quite the plans, mostly because suddenly everybody was feeling like they wanted to cheer her up, spending time with hers.

Making her the more wanted woman in Gotham.

Commissioner Gordon had made her run up through the entire city all morning then coming to pick her up on the opposite side of the city so that they could spend a few minutes together as he checked up on her.

_‘I saw you rather gloomy, Laurel, in these days’_ he muttered, softly, although his gaze was focused on the road ahead of them, something for which the girl was thankful since she was blushing copiously, knowing that Jim was hinting to her relationship with ‘Jensen’ _‘… are you and Jensen spending the Christmas, together or…?’._

_‘He is in Kenya’_ she had subtly started compiling a list of all the place that she told Jim that ‘Jensen’ had been in, mostly because she feared Jason messing up and ruining his whole cover story.

Jim would have had an heartattack if she had discovered that she was dating Red ~~‘Fuck the GCPD’~~ Hood.

Which she wasn’t.

_‘… I don’t know when he’ll come back’_ she had replied simply.

Which was partially true.

If she had learnt one thing was that Jason’s missions could last one day exactly like a whole month if not more.

And Jim didn’t push it, aside from suggesting that she came to his house to spend the Christmas Eve with him and Barbara.

_‘We had so much fun the last time!’._

~~Just so that she could have been given the shovel talk also by Barbara…~~

_‘I’ll think about it’._

After that awkward but affectionate car ride, Pearl had treated her to pizza and drinks, although Laurel hadn’t drunk anything, choosing to give her liver a pause since after she had finished a bottle of tequila after the one of vodka.

**In two days.**

And now she was on her way to the Wayne Manor.

Technically Laurel hadn’t a driving license, so she mostly used the metro or the autobus, and a few times by night the various car-sharing options available in Gotham, but also Pearl, Jim or Jason usually offered to drive her wherever she wanted.

Still, she had gotten Pearl to drop her a bit away from the Manor, saying that she would be staying at Jensen’s house to ‘clean it up a bit’.

Which wasn’t technically a lie.

She hated lying to her friend, but she felt like suddenly telling her friend that she was going to the Wayne manor would have meant a lot of questions.

And probably gossip.

_‘… shit if you are whipped’._

_‘I am doing it mostly because he has a lot of cool stuff at house and faster wi-fi’._

_‘Go and get all of that, sweetie’_ had simply answered Pearl, offering her a ‘goodnight’ and Laurel had been grateful that as much as she and Pearl were friends since she had first set her foot in the stations, they weren’t on the ‘check if your friend has entered the house’ stage.

Still the walk to Wayne Manor was small and she arrived right on time, being welcomed inside by Alfred Pennyworth, himself.

Laurel had grown with nannies and butlers, but nothing could have prepared her for that experience.

“Miss Cellini” he welcomed her inside, taking in her appearance and Laurel was honestly worried for what she had chosen to wear that day, a slight variation of her usual outfit onto a classier side, which mean that she was wearing black pants and a white sweater with a v-neck, hiding perfectly her curves.

But the color scheme gave her some kind of ‘lawyer who will win this case’ vibes.

But maybe… maybe she should have gone with a skirt.

~~… her worst nightmare.~~

“… did you walk here?” the butler seemed offended by the sole thought of that “… we could have sent somebody to come and get you…”.

“Oh no, my friend… had to actually drive by here and dropped me a few meters away, I walked for a few minutes, nothing too bad”.

Fuck, for being a lit-major her vocabulary sucked.

Still Alfred seemed less offended by that thought, as he walked her away from the entrance ushering her inside, and Laurel knew that she should have done a bit of conversation, but at the same time…

… what was she going to say?

~~_‘I love the recipe you gave Jason for the Sacher cake’._ ~~

“… ahem… Jason spoke a lot about you”.

Truly smart.

Why was that whenever she was faced with any Wayne her IQ lowered intensely?

“Oh, master Todd has spoken a lot about you, as well”.

“He has?” that was definitely too eager to sound disinterested.

“Yes” was the butler smiling?

That definitely explained why it was always the butler that got accused in thrillers.

“… and you do look every inch as Master Todd’s description”.

Was that supposed to be a good thing?

“You do, as well” Laurel could only reply, although all she could think was what had Jason actually said to his family about her.

Bruce had actually had to dig up information about her and she doubted that the others knew much about her, even after having met her.

Although by now they probably had seen the photos of her birth, since her mother had sold them to the best-paying tabloid.

“… I am just surprised that Jason talked about me… to his fam…”.

“Only to me, Miss Cellini” replied the butler, turning towards her as he stopped his swift steps.

He must have certainly a lot of training to keep up such a velocity at his age, meanwhile Laurel was already painting.

~~And the anxiety in her didn’t help.~~

“You see Master Todd usually comes to me for things like this” now the butler was indeed smirking at her “… he speaks rather fondly of you, if I might dare to say and I have been very curious if the girl behind the description matched it”.

Why did she always feel like this was all a big exam with them?

Oh yeah right.

Her whole life she had been put under her mother’s exams.

So, she kind expected that behavior from anyone.

The fact that she hardly ever met her mother’s standards didn’t help in convincing her that she could pass these exams.

“… and although I haven’t been in your company for long, Master Todd was right in saying that you, Mrs. Cellini, are a sight for sore eyes…” why the fuck can’t the coward just tell me this to my face’ “… although he said it in other terms”.

“Did he quote Shakespeare?”.

“You do know him well, Mrs. Cellini” the smile that appeared on Alfred’s face was definitely genuine and Laurel let a small victorious smirk appear on her face.

“Pennyworth I thought that I had told you to bring Mrs. Cellini to me immediately” a voice caught them both off-guard as they were approaching the room that looked like the dining room, although Laurel had seen at least five similar, on their way there.

And honestly the walk there had taken more time than her walk to arrive to the Manor.

She was used to people being rich.

Technically she had lived like a trust-fund kid since a year ago.

But in the way it was typical of movie actors and Hollywood stars.

Not the old money kind of way, Bruce was broadcasting.

Which was a bit of unsettling.

She was pretty sure that the pieces of art she had seen on the walls were authentic.

“Master Damian, I was coming your way with Mrs. Cellini” the sass was honestly exactly as Jason had told her and she shielded a small laugh with her hand, spurred on even more by the annoyed and adorable expression on Damian’s face.

Although a look at his outfit made her feel badly underdressed.

He wore a high-necked black sweater that in its simplicity was probably worth Laurel’s whole apartment.

And honestly the pair of cargo pants that he was wearing were so stylish that the obnoxious theme didn’t seem that horrid, giving Damian some kind of look that expressed perfectly how he was ready for both business and fighting at the same time.

**“… but an old man felt like being chatty with a lovely lady”.**

Laurel hadn’t known any other family than her mother and her sister, although she had various photos of her grandparents who had moved back in Italy, after their retirement and before their daughter became a famous movie star.

So, she hadn’t ever created a bond with her grandparents, but she couldn’t help but feel like that was pure ‘sassy grandpa behavior’.

And something in her honestly wanting to bugger Alfred for more details about all the shit that Jason had done during his time at the Manor.

“… then do go and grab us a few snacks” muttered annoyedly Damian and Laurel shot him a quick glare, knowing that although it wasn’t her place, she had to say something, settling up on a slight sarcastic reply.

“At least say please, midget!”.

Alfred this time did seem to look proud.

And if looks could kill she would have been dead by Damian’s explosive annoyance.

“… please, Pennyworth”.

“Better” Laurel and Alfred muttered that reply in sync.

“Mrs. Cellini, I’ll now leave you in Master Damian’s hands, meanwhile I’ll prepare you some snacks” he was definitely smirking softly, almost as if he wanted to photograph this picture in his mind “… any allergies?”.

“Oh… oh not really” Laurel answered, before thinking him, but before she knew it Damian had grabbed by the hand bringing her forward in the room from where he had come to meet them, something adorably blushy on his cheeks.

She had once worked in a school during her final internship to gain the license to teach, so she had actually been in contact with children and she had learned a few tricks on how to handle them, but with the way Damian was acting she couldn’t help but feel a bit unsure of how to ‘deal with him’.

Jason described him as a very detached child.

A mini-Bruce in every conceivable way.

Except the ones that the League had pushed onto him as a child.

She hadn’t expected him to be so focused onto her, even going as far as touching her, willingly.

He did let her hand go once he realized they were safely inside.

And Laurel immediately understood why.

“Drake! You can move away from the dining room, since my guest arrived!”.

Tim was sprawled on what looked like a vintage piece of sofa, definitely one of the prettiest Laurel had ever seen, and it almost seemed like the time passed hadn’t damaged it, instead softening it and making to so appealing to the girl who had spent a whole day on her feet with heels.

Laurel knew that there was some kind of competition between Tim and Damian, thank to Jason.

He had once told her that in some part he understood the fight, because he had been once in Tim’s position, and meanwhile the boy had taken Jason’s place, now Damian threatened to take Tim’s.

Or better, he had, actually.

“… stop being so freaking loud, Damian” shot back Tim, his eyes shifting swiftly from the iPad he was using and finding Laurel beside his brother.

He was definitely surprised, but quickly reigned his face in a smile and muttered a light ‘hey Laurel’.

“Hey!” she shot back even shier, feeling Damian glaring at her, probably since she had greeted ‘his mortal enemy’ “… sorry to bother you”.

“He is the one bothering us!” retorted Damian, his annoyance almost making steam exit his ears and hadn’t Laurel been worried about losing a finger she would have pushed herself to his height (which wasn’t… that low for her, a fellow midget) and pinched his cheeks softly, admiring how adorable he was “… I told him that I would be having a guest to watch a movie and he just… occupied the room!”.

“Technically…” now it was Tim’s turn to reply and Damian tried to shush him, but Laurel was faster and gently stopped him with a raised hand to make him understand that he had to wait for his turn.

He begrudgingly accepted, pointing down his left feet, meanwhile Tim looked at her as if she was a snake enchantress.

“… as I was saying… you don’t own this place…”.

“Not yet” Damian’s smile was sharper than the one a twelve-year-old should have.

“Either way, you don’t own it, so I can do what I want” he muttered, then sending a light look at Laurel, softening it lightly “… and I’d like to watch the movie with you, if Laurel doesn’t mind”.

“But I mind!” Damian chipped in, meanwhile Laurel thought of almost having to physically restrain him from attacking Tim, who just goaded him “… Laurel is my guest”.

**“Technically she is Jason’s girlfriend”.**

_**“Technically if you keep on fighting, I am going back home”**_ that caught their attention “… Tim can watch the movie with us, a few good feet away from Damian, because I don’t trust you two near… and secondly Tim don’t goad your brother into fighting, if you want to stay with us to watch the movie, you are welcome, I mean… I would make the watching of ‘Stardust’ mandatory, if it came to me… but please… I don’t want to explain to Mr. Wayne how I got blood on his expensive carpet”.

A moment of silence made Laurel almost think that she had used her ‘mom voice’, when it wasn’t needed and that she would be kicked out of the manor, as both the boys stared at her as if she had just grown a third head.

“… please don’t ever call Bruce… Mr. Wayne” simply muttered Tim, meanwhile Damian’s face moved to his shoes as he weakly commented ‘that’s why I am the blood son, Drake’ “… but like… understood…”.

“Understood” Damian repeated and Laurel left out a small breath.

“Good” she muttered “I am taking the middle by the way”.

Half an hour later, Tim had moved onto the loveseat in front of the TV and Laurel hadn’t had the heart of reprimanding him for being too close to the TV, meanwhile Damian chose to sit onto an armchair in the angle, definitely channeling his best ‘evil villain’ impression.

Laurel instead discovered that the sofa was indeed very soft.

Hadn’t she been scared of being probably filmed by Batman’s secret cameras meanwhile she pushed her feet onto the sofa, she would have done it.

Alfred came in a few minutes later pushing a tray full of snacks that looked positively delicious on the small table at the center of the enormous room.

And again, hadn’t Laurel been a bit fearful of the new space, she would have gladly explored it fully.

“Thank you” she muttered to Alfred, and although she had already cheated on her own strict dietary regime (which was just a consequence of her mother making her constantly feel like she ate too much) she thought that if she hadn’t eaten anything, the butler would have been very very hurt by that.

She was doing it for Alfred.

Jason had once told her that he’d handfed her if she kept on denying his treats.

“… they are adequate, Pennyworth” muttered Damian, choosing also a snack, meanwhile Tim looked attentively at the scene, thanking the butler with a nod, as he waited his own turn, collecting a few in his sweatshirt and moving back onto his loveseat.

“I am glad, master Damian” replied with a knowing smirk Alfred, before turning to Laurel again “… if you need anything Mrs. Cellini, do shout, please, but I see that you are handling everything pretty well.

The fact that she hadn’t had an anxiety attack was a testament to that.

She nodded and he went away.

Tim, in the meantime, did a few things on his iPad and suddenly the TV switched on as the Netflix logo appeared.

“Stardust, right?” he muttered, as if he had been a permanent fixture of their night, and as much as Laurel wasn’t bothered by his presence, she couldn’t help but overthink what his presence meant.

She wouldn’t have blamed them for not trusting her alone with Damian.

Or the contrary.

But she couldn’t help but think that this was some kind of exam.

Although Tim honestly looked the least threatening.

“… yep” she muttered.

“I did read ‘Good Omens’ by Neil Gaiman” Tim continued on making small talk although his eyes were set onto the iPad “… it was kind of cool…”.

“Personally, it was super cool, but I prefer ‘Stardust’ since it has more a fantasy element and it is more easily to follow though…” shit she hoped of not having sounded critical “… but I am very curious about the TV series that came out based on the book”.

“Oh same!” Tim’s tone of voice picked up a bit, definitely signaling his interest as he finally found ‘Stardust’.

A few growls exiting Damian’s mouth of impatience.

“… if you end up watching it do let me know if you like it” he added, as he clicked onto the button to make the movie start “… demon spawn, do let us know if there are any scary scenes”.

“Please do the same, Drake”.

What had she gotten herself into?

But as she thought it, she couldn’t help but smile.

* * *

When the movie finished Tim had renown respect for Neil Gaiman and Robert DeNiro.

‘I still can’t believe that he did that and when did that movie even come out?’ he had rushed to check on his iPhone, meanwhile both Damian and Laurel laughed loudly from the sofa, since the midget had moved in to be closer to the snacks, just to end up leaning onto Laurel again as he had done when he had been hurt.

Laurel had clearly noticed a discreet stiffness in his movements which probably signaled that although the stitches had stopped the hemorrhage, his wound hadn’t completely healed, which explained why he wasn’t out yet, with the others.

But still, she had softly readjusted her stance to allow him to relax a bit.

And he had been less stiff when Laurel had gently started playing with his hair.

Although he had been discreet about it, Laurel had noticed that Tim, meanwhile he watched the movie, was chatting with his phone, probably providing some information to the ones outside.

**‘IT CAME OUT IN 2007?!’.**

‘Drake! Lower your high-pitched voice!’ shot back Damian with the same tone, making Laurel lightly huffed, before erupting in a laughter followed by both the boys.

Laurel then saw her screen lighting up and went to check the phone that she had forgotten beside her, since she had been honestly enjoying her time with the two boys.

But a quick look at the screen, she discovered a terrible news.

Everybody who lived in Gotham had by now downloaded an app to know which big baddie would ruin their night.

And tonight, it seemed that Poison Ivy had just disrupted a few public transportations systems, which involved the areas where Laurel lived, and although nobody was injured and neither the apartments were touched, she couldn’t go back at home.

She doubted that any car sharing options would have been available.

She could have walked there, although she wasn’t eager for it.

As somebody who lived with Red Hood, she knew the amount of criminality went up by night and as much as she liked to think that the world was better than Jason pictured it to be, being a girl by night wasn’t a reassuring thought, even more when it’d mean walking for at least half an hour.

Laurel didn’t have too many friends aside from Pearl and Red Hood and neither of them were available, since the first option was God-knows-where and the second was probably working to solve the Poison Ivy’s problematic.

It was this time she almost regretted having moved away from sunny California.

She certainly had the same amount of friends she had in Gotham, but Victoria always tended to have her back, mostly because she actually had a driving license and found it extremely funny to drive around her older sister.

And as much as she hated relying on her mother, she could also ask one of her assistants for a lift or some help, although she tried not to do it.

In Gotham she hadn’t the same ‘safety net’ she had back in California.

“Laurel, you look worried” muttered Damian, his face scrunching up in an adorable way that almost mimicked Bruce’s own focused expression, something that definitely got a small smirk to appear on her face, before it was shadowed by the revelation that she was in a few meters of good natural shit.

“… it isn’t anything, I just… kind of…” deep breath, Laurel, deep breath, they probably deal with this shit over and over again “… Poison Ivy is kind of… devastating my neighborhood and I am wondering how I’ll go back home, but hey… I just…”.

“You can sleep here” Tim said it as if it was the most obvious thing, shooting her even a look that said: ‘I don’t see why you are even worried’.

“Oh no, I… I can’t …” because that was something she wouldn’t have ever come up with “… I would be overstepping my stay I am sure…”.

“No, no, for once Drake said something smart” Damian gritted his teeth lightly, as if it pained him to admit that and Laurel would have been a bit amazed by what he had just said but she was panicking badly “… you should stay, Laurel, it wouldn’t be safe for you to go outside”.

“I can handle it” not really, but hey… she could always use the ‘knee in the groin’ thing.

“No, you obviously can’t, Laurel” well for being so small, certainly Damian had a lot of contempt “… Poison Ivy is quite the enemy and my idiotic brothers already struggle with her, and you are… no offense… a civilian”.

“… hey!” butted in annoyingly Tim, and Laurel almost hoped that he would jump to her defense to spite his brother “… but for once demon spawn is right, you should stay in here, Laurel, we have a lot of rooms, so…”.

“No, it is alright…”.

“Laurel, you don’t understand…” Tim’s little crooked smile was truly adorable, hadn’t it been used against her “… Alfred will get pissed if we let you go alone back at home, not to talk about Jason… so please just do us a favor and spare our innocent asses”.

“Actually, I am pretty sure that I could take on Todd…”.

“Damian, shut up!”.

Sensing the fight, Laurel just had to intervene:

“Ok, ok! I’ll stay” both Tim and Damian shared a swift look, before smiling at each other and Laurel couldn’t help but think that she had just been tricked by a twelve-year-old “… you two are actually more devious than I thought…”.

“We work well, when we team up” admitted lightly Tim, as Damian stuck up his nose and quickly pushed himself off the sofa to call Alfred so he could get another room ready for Laurel.

How the heck she always ended up in this kind of situations?

Both the boys had wished her ‘goodnight’ after Alfred had informed them that ‘Mrs. Cellini’s room was ready’ and meanwhile Tim had just waved at her, thanking her for the good night, Damian had looked extremely ‘emotionally constipated’ to say the least.

“… yeah, it was a nice night” she commented hoping to spur on a dialogue with the mini-Bruce, who did look at her in the eyes with a skeptic look, although slowly it dissolved more in disbelief “… hope you liked the movie”.

“It was tolerable” she should have honestly stopped expecting compliments from that child “… but your company, Laurel, was decent”.

“I’ll take that as a compliment” she muttered, moving to get up from the sofa and follow Alfred, who was waiting for her outside just for Damian to lightly grasp her hand again and again as much as the gesture seemed unusual for the child, Laurel didn’t question it, turning with a light smile.

“If you ever get annoyed by a Todd’s antics, which is bound to happen since he is an idiot…”.

“Tell me all about it”.

“… you can be my friend, Laurel”.

Well, that was a lot.

~~And adorable.~~

“I am pretty sure that I can be both your friend and Todd’s” she muttered, doing the thing that she had been aching to do since the start of this night and ruffling the hair of a child that took himself too seriously.

Damian didn’t cut off her hand but did threaten her with a look.

**“… or you could become Todd’s girlfriend… and my friend”.**

“Hey!” she was blushing “… let’s not get ahead of ourselves, that would involve Jason liking me”.

**“Which he does”.**

**“No, he doesn’t!”.**

Laurel shouldn’t honestly be fighting with a child over that.

And so, she had bidden him ‘goodnight’, ruffling his hair again as a small revenge.

Honestly, she understood why Tim and Damian had been scared of dealing with Alfred.

When Laurel had suggested that she just took the couch, Alfred had looked at her as if she has just personally offended his chocolate éclair and, eventually she had just dropped the subject, accepting the clothes he had brought for her.

‘Mrs. Cassandra’s’ he commented once Laurel shot them a look, honestly a bit weirded out by the fact that they had clothes laying around like that ‘… she outgrew them, but we still keep them till we donate them’.

‘Thank you’ she had muttered taking them, as she thought how she wouldn’t be able to fit in them and already resigned to sleeping in her panties and undershirt, but thankful with the way the family had taken care of her as if she was one of them.

It almost made Laurel feel like she had passed whatever exam this whole weird situation was.

‘… if you need anything, Mrs. Cellini, and I mean anything, there is a button to call me’ well, and Jason called her ‘the spoiled brat’ ‘… if you’d like to have a shower, I left a few towels on your bed and even a few extra blankets if you are cold’.

“That’s very nice of you, Alfred” she told him, seeing the butler gleaming happily, again that affectionate look in his eyes making her feel like he certainly heard too much shit from Jason about her that wasn’t true “… this is very very nice of you, I truly appreciate it”.

“Just see it as a way to give you back your precious help”.

Yeah, that made her feel definitely a bit less comfortable.

“… thank you, still, I’ll be out of your hands in the morning”.

She had technically the day off, since Jim had put her on the bench for a few more weeks making her do less turns but longer, so that she would work more on the week and rest during the weekend.

Laurel, who was a child of neglect, honestly didn’t know what to do when people cherished her a bit.

“Take all the time, you need, Mrs. Cellini. As of lately we have so few guests and too many empty rooms”.

She laughed at the small comment of the butler, before wishing him ‘goodnight’ and moving inside the room, careful not to touch anything, because everything looked old and expensive and Laurel was definitely the type that had broken a few too many vases when she was little and a bit clumsy.

Not that the situation had changed much.

Not that her mother had never truly noticed it.

And now she was in a room that could have been her apartment.

She had chosen to ditch the shower, simply freshening up before going to sleep and trying on Cassandra’s clothes, smelling delightfully clean and feeling so soft that as she pushed them on her body, they enveloped in a fitting warm hug.

They actually fit her, and she guessed they must have been oversized, because although Cass was a few inches taller than her, she was far slimmer than her, which made them fit properly on her body.

They were of a pinkish shade that Laurel found difficult to correlate to the same girl who went outside to fight crime in all black, but at the same time she still remembered the happy smile she had regained when she had seen the ballet on the TV.

In the end, if she had learned something it was that she shouldn’t have underestimated this family.

After slipping in the pajamas, she thought about actually going to sleep, just to realize that she was damnably thirsty, and the small water bottle she had brought from work was completely empty.

At first, Laurel thought of ignoring it and the trying her luck with the water from the sink.

Then she arrived at a compromise with herself: she wouldn’t bother Alfred, also because it was past 1 a.m.

So, she’d be going in the kitchen on her own to drink a bit and then swiftly going back to her bedroom, since she thought it would have been easy to find the kitchen, having passed it meanwhile Alfred guided her to her room.

Her room was on the first floor, meanwhile the kitchen was on the ground floor, but what she had seriously underestimated was the fact that the whole house in the darkness of the night would appear like a fucking labyrinth.

**Even more to an outsider.**

She thought of reaching the stairs just to arrive onto another set of rooms, all locked, except one.

Laurel lightly knocked against it, thinking that it might belong to one of the inhabitants of the Manor and that she could ask them where she might find the kitchen, since she doubted that she could have even gone back to her room, on her own.

But as she lightly pushed the door a bit to open it further careful not to peer inside to avoid any incidents, she found that the room was actually empty, although it indeed belonged to one of the boys in the Manor.

A few posters of sport celebrities were hung onto its walls, alongside a few of pretty women in rather disheveled outfits that made Laurel smirk a bit, since she couldn’t help but feel that this was a teenager room.

She remembered her own in the L. A. loft they had owned for Laurel’s teen years.

Elegantly modern in a way that made it seem like a sterile lab and not a room.

Laurel had tried adding a few personal touches to make it less ascetic, such as adjusting light-in-the-dark stars on the roof, moving then onto getting a small planetarium that she would light up at night to keep her company even in the darkness of the night.

The walls were full of posters of movies that she had liked, rigorously banning Estelle from any place of her room and just keeping a photo of her and Victoria as children on her elegant marble desk with silver details.

She had even had her own dose of teenage heartthrobs, mostly adding pictures of the actors that made her feel utterly enchanted.

And even a few of actresses that made her question her sexuality.

The one of Wonder Woman was strategically pasted inside her wardrobe to shield it from the indiscreet eyes of her rigid catholic governess.

She had never actually spent much time in that place, since both she and her sister followed her mother during her movie projects and whereas it had started with being all over Cali, they had moved onto travelling all over to America and then all over the world, once she had become famous.

During those periods Laurel and Victoria were enrolled in prestigious colleges.

And the walls and rooms of those places were even more horrid than the ones back ‘home’.

**But this show of teenage vulnerability was almost endearing.**

She guessed it must have belonged to Dick, since the room looked definitely abandoned although it was clear that Alfred was careful to change the sheets and wash it.

Her curiosity got the best of her, although she knew she shouldn’t have, and as she switched on the light to observe the room better.

And she took in the color in the room and then the boy in the picture on the bedside table.

Jason might have deleted any trace of his teen counterpart, but Laurel could still recognize a few harsh traits that he had carried in adulthood, making it clear that she had entered his room at the Manor.

**Shit shit shit.**

She should have turned around and just chose to avoid this awkward moment and invasion of his privacy.

But then the door closed almost on its own and before Laurel could even protest the door was locked behind her.

Was that…

**Was she getting murdered in there?**

~~She highly doubted it, mostly because of Batman ‘no murder’ rule.~~

But that was creepy.

Laurel immediately tried to open the door, forcing it swiftly with her hands but it didn’t seem to effectively work, since the door was definitely built to resist such a pressure, and she couldn’t get it to move further away.

The button that Alfred had shown her to call him was also present in the room, but getting the butler to come to her, would have meant him discovering that Laurel had been a bit too noisy than she should have.

She preferred to live in her own anxiety than judgement from the man.

Still, the whole room felt too tight onto her as if suddenly the walls were much closer than she had thought and everywhere she looked she found something that reminded her exactly why she shouldn’t have been there.

This was Jason’s sanctuary.

A part of him that he didn’t want to obviously show her, although the door had been open.

She felt like it was a trap.

And again, that feeling of being in some kind of exam nauseated her as her stomach ached intensely and, eventually she relented her whole control to push her ass down onto the floor, trying to remind herself what to do and how to deal with things, when she was in this head-state.

Her therapist had thought that since she had been in rather traumatic events in the latest months, she had just taken onto being hypervigilant, which stressed Laurel out even more.

Even more during daily activities.

So, she had given her two options: meds or meditation.

She had taken the latter because meds were something that made her feel at unease.

Her mother had an history of dependence on them, so she wasn’t going to risk it.

As the place became tighter around her, she closed her eyes and focused on the parts where her body touched, counting them and repeating the process whenever she lost count.

It was extremely frustrating, but to Laurel it brought a sense of ease that stole her from the nervous breakdown that her anxiety was building up for her, effectively getting her to relax and to focus lightly on anything that was the guilt in the pit of her stomach.

She could survive a night in Jason’s rooms.

He would understand why she had done so.

And she promised herself not to worsen the situation burying her nose in his past affairs-

Which meant that she was careful to avoid looking at the box hidden beneath his bed and the one badly hidden among a first layer of books, from which she took one, knowing Jason’s taste quite well.

They were mostly classic books that she had read during her time in the private colleges she had attended, but she also noticed a few different genres, focusing onto a dark humor that she thought Jason had developed after his death.

Laurel took one that she hadn’t read, since she knew that she’d have to spend the night there and although her anxiety and guilt were under control, reading always helped her with steadying her mind.

What she didn’t expect was that she’d have her mind completely relaxed.

Enough to fall asleep and woke up as she heard the door unlock itself.

Which immediately got Laurel to push herself up onto the bed, ready for any attacker that might come on her way, just to discover that there must be some kind of mechanical device that opened the door at certain hours and closed it at others.

Should Laurel seriously be concerned about it, knowing that Bruce was quite the control freak?

She decided to exit the room, attentively, looking around to see what was going on and if anybody was walking the halls and when she noticed that the hall was clear, she moved outside, noticing that since the daylight had come up, she could see better.

And the stairs weren’t that far away from her, actually.

She would have laughed, hadn’t she been too worried about being caught.

Before moving back to the stairs, she reached her chamber, which was open and freshened herself up, although she didn’t shower, both because she didn’t like the thought of ‘abusing’ the Wayne’s hospitality, but also because having spent the night in Jason’s room, she was mpw doused in his soft cologne.

There was less gunpowder and smoke, but something of his smell was still present in there.

And it made her nostalgic.

It made her miss Jason, even more.

That night she had discovered a small part of Jason that he didn’t show around anymore, because he thought that he didn’t own it anymore.

But to Laurel, Jason was still the Boy Wonder that had liked awful teenage reads and Jane Austen.

His tastes hadn’t changed that much.

When she exited the bathroom, she managed to get ahold of her phone, realizing that it was later than she was used to wake up, since it was by now eleven a.m. and she should have already been at home getting lunch ready and answering some emails for the police department.

She rushed to wear her outfit of the previous day, and then moved downstairs, finding indeed easily the kitchen, where Alfred seemed to be almost waiting for her, meanwhile another figure was at the kitchen island, sipping from a mug with her gaze lost in what looked like a sleepless night.

When she turned, startled by the noise of Laurel’s boots against the floor tiles, it was revealed to be Judith, the girl that she had met on the ‘icicle incident’, who had presented herself as Damian’s babysitter and a fan of F1.

A smile appeared quickly on her face as she also seemed to recognize Laurel.

**“Good morning”** she muttered to both the two people in the kitchen, as Judith simply raised a mug, inviting to sit beside her and Alfred replied lightly ‘good morning, Mrs. Cellini’ before moving to get what looked like her breakfast “… sorry… I must have… overslept…”.

“… at least one of us got to sleep tonight” muttered Judith, her gaze definitely being darker although Laurel couldn’t help but think that she looked still as fresh as a rose in some kind of way that made her look like a kick ass warrior.

One that said: _‘don’t mess with me’_.

“Oh no worries, Mrs. Cellini, you do are welcome to stay as much as you want” muttered Alfred, presenting to her a vast tray of various snacks that made her stomach grumble “… would you prefer coffee, tea or cocoa? Or I could get to prepare you something…”.

“… everything is completely fine, Alfred, but I do think that I’ll ditch the breakfast and move back home” she had checked on her phone, once she had gotten back in ‘her room’, and realized that the whole Poison Ivy situation had been solved.

So, there wasn’t any reason for her to stay there anymore.

_‘Thank to the always-useful help of the Batclan of Gotham… the true heroes of the night’._

She should have suggested to Vicky Vale to try soap operas.

Alfred looked offended by her proposal as if it was simply ridiculous, but didn’t dare to utter his contempt, instead focusing it onto the other figures that entered the kitchen in that moment, revealing themselves to be Stephanie and Duke.

They both regarded Laurel with surprise on their faces, but they quickly settled down onto a smirk that showed that they weren’t definitely surprised to see here there.

“Can’t believe that first… Jude over there ditches us for a date with Dick…” that got a middle finger from the girl mentioned “… and then Jason’s ‘I-am-not-his-girlfriend’ girlfriend has a sleepover without us”.

“… technically it wasn’t a date” shot back Judith, then taking a good sip from the mug, probably wishing that it was poison.

“… and technically I was supposed to be at home, last night…” added Laurel, sending a ‘back off’ glare to both the teens that instead smirked happily as if it was already Christmas “… and then Poison Ivy decided to destroy the transport services…”.

“… we handled it, by the way” muttered Duke as he accepted a mug filled of coffee from Alfred, smirking at him thankfully, definitely signaling that he had had a hard night.

“Thank you” Laurel muttered then, realizing that these were basically children, running around and saving Gotham as if it was their duty and she thought that not many thanked them, so she thought this could be the least that she could do, then turning to Steph and repeating the words.

“Next time just let us know! Me and Cass will join the sleepover, with all the weird masks we can come up with” Steph’s tone made it seem like it was the most obvious thing “… I do know one that has bubbles in it…”.

“Don’t annoy her with your idiotic stuff, Brown” muttered an annoyed voice, coming from the entrance of the kitchen and as Steph lightly pushed herself aside, Laurel was able to take a quick look to Damian, dressed up in what looked like training clothes with a katana in his hands.

And nobody seemed surprised by that sight.

“… I’d love to do a few cool face masks, I haven’t done one… in…” in a few months honestly.

Jason would sometimes join her even more if he was in need to have a nice and relaxing talk, and Laurel always enjoyed the time spent together as the vigilante scrunched lightly his nose to mess up with her as she put on her ‘homemade’ mask on him, just for him to do the same and risk almost pushing the entire thing in her hair-

“… too much time” she settled, before noticing that Damian was basically growling at Steph.

Combining this and the small talk they had had the previous night about her being both his friend and Jason’s, she could only understand that he had a difficult time dealing with friendships.

This probably steamed from his difficulty and self-esteem.

Laurel had been like that during her teenage years.

She had been convinced since a young age that there was something inherently wrong with her.

That there was a reason why her mother hated her.

And considering the small she knew about Damian’s mother she could understand that he had a similar thinking to fourteen-year-old Laurel.

“… and you can join too, Damian, you are entering boyhood…”.

“Laurel, I admire your brain, but if you keep talking, I’ll realize exactly why you and Todd are a match made in heaven”.

**“Hey! He has his qualities!”** which were making her feel like the most loved and least loved person in the world at the same time.

“… see, they are obviously together” muttered lowly Duke at Stephanie who simply nodded before getting a quick sip of her own cup.

“… what I was saying is that… sleepover isn’t solely for girls” Laurel regained the reins of the conversation, as she shot a meaningful look to Damian, before remembering herself that she was definitely overstaying her boundaries at the Wayne manor “… and that also Todd sometimes does face masks with me…”.

“That is a payback material I won’t ever let go” muttered Steph, moving to get a small snack, meanwhile Damian came closer, stealing the piece of waffle right from the girl’s hands, something in his whole behavior definitely showing that he wanted to reaffirm his dominance over her.

Steph protested, right as Laurel was moving to say ‘goodbye’ to Alfred, and then everything went to shit.

**“… you don’t need it, Brown, you are already too fat”.**

**“You shouldn’t say that” it was mortally glacial in a way that didn’t belong to Laurel.**

**It belonged to Estelle Cel.**

And Laurel immediately regained her composure, but the room had already fallen in a glacial silence.

“… I better go” and she darted out, not saying ‘goodbye’ to everyone.

She moved outside not even looking at everything that was going on.

Everything had gone brilliantly, and Laurel had felt… alright.

She had spent a nice night, not alone and not with a million thought in her head.

She hadn’t spent a night with the nightmare of the bullet in her shoulder or the explosives going off earlier, killing Jason on the spot, again.

Of him never coming back to her.

And then she brilliantly screwed it up.

As she always did.

She was halfway through reaching the exit, when a hand shot to her shoulder and lightly touched her, but Laurel still startled, risking of fumbling down in her own two feet, and again that hand steadied her.

When she turned she realized it was Judith.

“I am sorry, I didn’t…” her words were rushed and probably made little sense.

“The brat can take a few reprimands” Judith replied, although her words were very much every inch of sarcastic, her tone was soft as if she knew that Laurel was very very in her ‘freeze or flight’ reflect “… I… do you have an intention to go back by feet?”.

“Ahem yeah…” she omitted the part in which she usually said she didn’t have a driving license, because people always thought that she was just ‘too lazy to get one’.

Not about the fact that she cringed at the thought of being behind the wheel.

“… well… that is quite the walk” Laurel was surprised that Judith remembered when she lived.

It wasn’t an ordinary feat.

But Laurel guessed that Judith wasn’t ordinary in the slightest.

There was an unnatural kind of beauty, even though she was wearing an oversized pajama that looked definitely like everything that was unsexy in the world.

And yet she looked like a Victoria Secret top model.

Everything that Laurel wasn’t.

And Judith still wanted to be in her company.

“… I can… I can give you a lift”.

“Oh no… you don’t have to” she replied softly, feeling again that sensation of being a bother.

“Honestly… if I come back, I can’t promise that I won’t murder Stephanie if she says again that I had a date with Dick” she muttered as if it was the most obvious of things “… and I don’t want to leave the comfort of Wayne manor… they have Alfred and I feel like that is the best thing ever”.

Although Laurel was a ball of nerves, she couldn’t help the shaky laugh that left her lips.

And Judith joined her, before gently tapping again her shoulder as if to reassure her that she would stay with her through all of this.

“I’ll get my keys and a coat and then I’ll drive you back home, alright?”.

It felt good to be asked.

It was a less evident way of checking on her.

A few minutes later, Laurel was buckling herself in a ranger rover, meanwhile Judith started the ignition.

“… what happened in the kitchen…” well, that was a conversation she honestly didn’t want to have “… it isn’t anything that should be onto you. Damian needs a few lessons about being sensitive towards people around him…”.

“That was still out of place for myself” Laurel wasn’t his teacher, his nanny or his mother.

She had told me that they could be friends.

And she was sure that her glacial comment had gone further than that.

“… but it isn’t your fault” that was everything that Judith muttered and strangely it got a weight off Laurel’s chest “… and just let me tell you that he won’t be even mad with you, I do think that he has a crush on you”.

“I doubt it”.

“Just accept that you have two Wayne on your trail, Mrs. Laurel” Judith made fun of her in the soft way friends did with each other, which got her a small elbow in the ribs from Laurel, once they stopped at a traffic light.

“And what about you, Mrs. Judith?” that got her an elbow in her ribs.

“… it wasn’t a date…” her blush said otherwise but as Judith had given Laurel a way out, the girl gave the other the same, listening onto her as she looked lightly at the grim Gotham on a Saturday morning “… I just… I really like art and there was a gallery exhibit in Blundhaven…”.

“Wait… first you like… F1 and now… even art… I just…” Laurel sent her an awful imitation of lovesick eyes “… think that you are my soulmate”.

“I’ll take you the gallery exhibit, if you renounce to your Ferrari merchandise”.

“Never happening” she answered as both the girls erupted in laughter.

“… but it was… kind of nice… I mean… I don’t know if you know who Dick is…”.

“Worked on an undercover mission with him” at Judith’s incredulous look she flashed her best ‘I am a cop’ smirk “… I am a secretary at the GCPD station…”.

“What a badass”.

“But I do know that he can be suave” Laurel’s voice tried to stay neutral.

“… he isn’t… he isn’t that with him” that somehow made her redden more “… he kind of… he kind of is trying to get me back on my feet… start over…”.

And then her voice stilled, as if she was trying to take a choice in what to say next.

“… I used to be… in the League, that’s how I know Damian” Laurel could only guess that she didn’t mean any sport league.

**But the League of Assassins.**

She didn’t know much aside from what Jason had shared.

They had been part of his resurrection and when he had told Laurel the story of it, he hadn’t left out the mentor role that Talia had taken over with him and that he had escaped it as soon as he could, before he could get smashed in the whole system.

She knew that they were awfully good at destroying personalities and building war machines.

Killing machines.

And that explained the extraordinary vibe she had gotten from Judith.

Laurel should have been scared.

But she didn’t feel like that.

“… well, I hope you won’t be offended, but I feel like I am being threatened by a cupcake”.

“Laurel”.

“Listen… this isn’t meant to be in any way… against you… but I react to stressing situations with sarcasm, so this is me being serious, but I honestly don’t believe anything else of you, after knowing that” because as it had happened with Jason, she had met Judith, not League of Assassin! Judith “… you are the girl that saw me panicking and just thought of bringing me home, I don’t think… I don’t think that could make you a threat in my eyes”.

“Maybe I just want to get to your home and steal all your F1 merch”.

**“I live with Red Hood, I have heard worse threats”** again that idiotic laughter, definitely easing the awkward sensation that had settled between them “… and by the way, don’t try to change the subject because, you, little shit, were talking about your gallery date”.

“Listen I am not the one who cheers for a car that is a trashcan”.

**“… and again… I told you… I prefer Alphatauri”:**

“… and it wasn’t a date” that was all, but then Judith just shot a look that basically said ‘ok, since you insisted’, but everything in her body showed an ache to talk with her “… it was… it was nice”.

“That’s good, because I have a lot of shit on him, if he annoys you” at Judith’s bewildered stare she just added “… listen… Jason is very talkative”.

“I am starting to think that you are the threat” she muttered, as she then moved to properly park her car outside Laurel’s apartment complex “… and honestly… I just guess that having a long-distance relationship… must entail a lot of… talk”.

It was obviously an innuendo, but Laurel just faked of not understanding it.

“It isn’t a relationship”.

“Yeah yeah, mutual support and all” Judith even went to open her door, which got Laurel to gently push her away at that comment “… hey, friends to talk with friends about their crushes”.

“You aren’t my friend, anymore, after that” Laurel’s voice wasn’t threatening in the slightest and Judith caught up to her in a few steps “… I was serious”.

“I now understand why you get along with Damian” muttered Judith “… annoying brats”.

**“Take it back!”.**

But as Laurel reached her doorstep, they were both laughing.

“… feeling a bit better?” Judith asked, as she took in a quick look at her apartment, not entering it, but definitely checking her security system.

Jason had upgraded it since he had started dropping in there more frequently.

And then moved in.

“… kind of…” Laurel muttered, because she knew that the thought would have definitely haunted her for a bit more, but the sensation had delved from guilt onto embarrassment and she could definitely deal with it through a marathon of ‘Criminal Minds’.

“Maybe a call from Jason might help” that sly smirk and Laurel was quick to reply.

“… he is on a mission” Judith’s eyes told her ‘as if that would stop him’ ”… he doesn’t usually text on missions…”.

Judith’s eyes were too slow to hide the surprise on her face.

And some suspicion started brewing in Laurel’s soul.

**“… does… is he contact with his family?”.**

~~Had Jason been lying to you?~~

He had told her that he found it extremely difficult to find devices that could allow a safe communication between them, mostly because a lot of smartphones could be easily detected.

And even if he managed to get his hands on such a device, he was worried about her being detected and used against him, which she understood perfectly, but at the same time she just wished that he could talk with her.

Mostly because she went entire weeks without knowing whether he was alive or not.

And yeah, by now she had learnt to trust Jason.

But was she wrong in being a bit apprehensive?

Judith looked honestly conflicted about what to truly answer.

But then her face just went ‘fuck it’.

“Yeah, he does, he has been keeping up with Bruce, and nobody else”.

~~Fuck fuck fuck.~~

“… I don’t think that it is because he doesn’t want to talk about you, but…”.

“What you were saying about the ‘relationship’ was right” Laurel felt a river flooding through her, her eyes steeling in a way that finally got Judith to slip inside and close the door behind her “… but it’s a one-sided relationship”.

Judith’s eyes told her to go on.

“Each… each time I come close or I think… I came close to him… he just pushes himself back, and I know… I understand he has… worries and doubts, but I just… I just feel like it is… it isn’t me who he wants”.

And as the river had appeared, now it was gone.

And Laurel crumbled down.

Judith looked surprised by her reaction but still went to gently collect the girl in her arms as Laurel’s knees buckled beneath her, probably the fact that she hadn’t even consumed breakfast getting to her.

She cried.

And although she felt like utter shit, it felt good to cry.

She hadn’t ever realized how painful it was to keep all those thoughts in her mind.

**“… I am terrible at this…”** Judith’s comment made Laurel laugh a bit hysterically “… but I just want you to know that maybe he is terrorized for the simple fact that it is you who he wants and that scares him…”.

“That doesn’t like… sound much different” because if there was one thing that Laurel had learnt from her mother it was that she was a shame to her bloodline.

“… but it is!” insisted Judith “… it is… different because… for somebody who has been trained not to feel anything but anger, love is on the opposite side of the spectrum and it is something that scares because many people think that means that they’ll have to change… at least change their ways…”.

“I don’t want Jason to change” Laurel felt almost selfish at the way Judith’s answer resounded so perfectly “… but I do want him to acknowledge that he is loved and that I love him… fuck I sound like some ungrateful…”.

“I don’t think you do” Judith’s answer was so still that it seemed almost obvious “… I don’t think that you are in the wrong to let Jason know what you want from him and what you feel from him. I think that he did something wrong, not calling you in this mission, but… I also think that… he is testing your bounds… till he sees the love that you have for him change into anger…”.

“I don’t want anymore tests, I am just… everything seems it and I am so worried of failing them” she had anxiety for fuck’s sake.

“Then you have to let him know, and then let him deal with that knowledge” that seemed to easy and Judith definitely saw her difficulty to believe her words “… I know that… he is kind of… stubborn and you don’t have to give him an ultimatum, but you have to let him know that whatever he does, won’t make you run away”.

“I should pay you for this session of therapy” Laurel’s bod seemed to finally regain its control and she honestly was just so eager to get back on her feet, since as much as Judith’s words were right, she had been too weak in such a little time that she felt like it wasn’t just right.

She’d have a shit ton of embarrassment to push away with doctor. Spencer Reid’s ramblings.

“… can I stay here till Stephanie just finds a better theme for her idiotic shenanigans?”.

**“Now it is my time, Judith”** a voice surprised them both and Laurel screeched loudly as she noticed that there was a shadow in her apartment, meanwhile Judith moved in a defense position, just for them to realize that it was solely Damian.

**“What the fuck”** murmured Laurel as she looked at her hands to calm herself down **“What the fuck!”.**

Then she remembered that she had cursed in front of a child.

Judith didn’t seem to even notice that.

“Fucking midget stop sneaking on people” muttered back the woman annoyed “… I get that you are Batman’s son, but you can’t do that to normal people like, Laurel”.

“Thank you for calling me normal, it is the first time in a long time that somebody has called me that” muttered back sarcastically the other girl, meanwhile Judith shot her a small look as if to say: ‘are you okay’.

“Understood, dear Judith” muttered lightly Damian, gritting his teeth, as his whole attention shifted towards Laurel “… I just wanted to talk with Laurel”.

“And you… you just followed us?” Judith muttered, her tone obviously saying that it wasn’t the right behavior, although it wasn’t a harsh reprimand and Damian’s eyes flickered with complicity “… it is very Drake’s behavior”.

“Don’t compare me to that awful being” shot back Damian, although the offense in his tone didn’t seem so harsh “… and by the way… I stole one of father’s car and drove here since I remembered Laurel’s address”.

“You drove here?!” Laurel was going to have a panic attack in Bruce’s stead.

“Irrelevant” shot her down Damian “… I came here to apologize, Laurel”.

Well, she hadn’t expected that.

And neither the hurt in Damian’s eyes, alongside the genuineness in his apology.

She had expected anger from him since it seemed his go-to emotion, when insulted or threatened.

But Laurel couldn’t help but feel like he honestly wanted to make a good impression on her.

Which just added to the guilt Laurel was feeling.

“… it isn’t… you have nothing to apologize, Damian” she muttered softly.

“Still, what I said obviously… had an effect on you… an awful effect and I am sorry for it”.

Damian might have showcased a lot of insecurities about his reactions to others and he wanted to act like he was emotionless, but he certainly knew how to recognize the emotions other felt.

He didn’t know how to address it.

And Laurel appreciated his attempt at it.

She moved closer to Damian to show him that she wasn’t offended with him and saw his whole body react relaxing, although his upper body leaned away from her, as if to show that he was at unease and Laurel stopped a bit away, putting a bit of space between them.

Enough for him to be comfortable.

Exactly like she did with Jason.

But she didn’t want to think about Jason.

And she had totally forgotten about Judith in the room.

Which made her painfully aware that this was a chat she’d rather not be having right now.

But Damian looked painfully tight, although he believed her.

Something in him, regarding her as an equal got her to feel a soft warmth in her body.

“… it isn’t your fault, but I’d prefer that people don’t use ‘fat’ as an insult” she gently pushed an hand onto Damian’s shoulder, once he lightly nodded his head allowing her to do **“… I am fat…”.**

Damian went to try to say something in protest, but Laurel just held him there with the hand onto his shoulder.

“… I know that I am not the lithe girls of movies or such… I am… curvy and I have come to accept that” not truly, but Damian didn’t have to know that “… and I am fine with saying that I am ‘fat’, I have… learned to live with that definition… but I hate when people use that as an insult. People can be ‘fat’ for various reasons, and none of them are negative”.

Damian’s cheeks reddened as he noticed his mistake.

“You are a child…”.

“He won’t agree with you on that” muttered Judith, reminding Laurel’s of her own presence there.

“… what I am trying to say is that… you are allowed to do mistakes… but you have to learn from those” she muttered, gently freeing Damian from the hold of her hand “… although I apologize because I am in no position to educate on this”.

“You are, Laurel” Damian’s voice surprised her, a renown seriousness on his face “… and I am sorry if my choice of word wasn’t appropriate, I’ll be more careful with it in the future, and you are allowed to correct me when I am wrong… which happens rarely…”.

“… he is so benevolent” cringed annoyedly Judith, gaining a glare of pure annoyance from the boy who just stuck his nose further up in the air, as if to say: ‘fuck yeah, I am’.

“… but I do appreciate it… coming from you, Laurel…” he muttered with a light frown “… but don’t tell, Todd…”.

“I have my lips sealed” promised Laurel, mimicking the gesture as Damian moved towards Judith, obviously knowing that this question was closed, and the girl was happy that they had managed to solve it without violence or tears involved.

**“… do I have to give you a lift, Judith?”** he asked arrogantly to Judith who literally stole the keys from his hands and held her hand out for his, till he begrudgingly accepted it and both she and Damian moved towards the door.

She reprimanded him for having come from the Manor on his own.

‘Do you know how many chances you had of this going badly?’ she muttered, with an annoyance that was almost affectionate, before turning to Laurel one more time to thank her for the hospitality ‘… we should trade numbers, so I can tell you about the gallery’.

‘… your date with Dick’.

‘Shut up, midget, or I’ll tell your dad to hide the keys to all his cars’.

“… wait I’ll leave you my number” Laurel swiftly scribbled it onto a piece of paper that she found in her bag, still on her shoulder and handed it happily to Judith “… and yeah, I am here to hear about that date”.

Judith’s eyes were definitely scary.

But Laurel had her own dose of Jason ‘I-am-not-cute’ Todd.

“… and seriously…” Judith turned another time “… it isn’t… you are perfect, Laurel, if he doesn’t understand he is…”.

“… an idiot… which Todd is, indeed”.

“Midget, this is gossip you aren’t involved in”.

“I and Laurel shared a sleepover, I am her best friend”.

“I am not sure it works like that…”.

“… we can have a proper sleepover next time” muttered lightly Laurel to calm the two “… Judith, you can join… only if you share us the Nightwing’s squat routine”.

“… I hate you, both” muttered Judith before closing the door behind herself.

But fifteen minutes later Laurel received a message with ‘do you think he wears a padded suit?’.

* * *

The knowledge of Jason having willingly ignored her during those mission had slowly seeped again into her mind once she had managed to quell her aching stomach and got a bit of work done to keep her mind away from that matter.

Usually when she had any kind of uneasy feelings, she dealt them out with different chores that didn’t involve her brain to work, this way she would keep the overthinking to a lower level, allowing her to release a lot of pent-up anger and sadness.

But when she was halfway through setting away her computer to get her iPad, she noticed Judith’s messages and her mind couldn’t help but wonder.

She allowed herself to feel angry for Jason’s white lie.

She knew that Judith deep down had been right when talking about Jason’s insecurities.

But still…

… why couldn’t he just understand that she wanted him?

It felt like swimming in a stormy ocean.

Difficult and tiring.

But it was worth it.

To her.

Maybe not to Jason.

‘Please don’t go down that rabbit hole’ she pleaded to her mind, but it was too late.

And then her phone rang.

She thought it was obviously Judith, since they had been chatting non-stop, or maybe Steph since the girl had gotten the number from the ex-assassin and had been ‘annoying’ Laurel to get her to do also a sleepover with her.

But the ID caller wasn’t registered and Laurel for a moment thought of not answering it.

It was probably some call-center, although technically it was Saturday night.

Pearl had actually suggested that she came to get a few drinks with her, but Laurel, after the whole revelation, just wanted to stay with her angst inside and sleep.

In the end she decided to answer it, mostly because it might be another member of the Batclan who wanted to talk with her, so she decided to answer it.

And she got the surprise of a lifetime.

**“Hey sweetheart”.**

~~Fuck fuck fuck.~~

Her gaze shot in the darkness that was her room in the light of a December afternoon, almost as if she expected to find Damian lurking in the shadows.

And instead, she found Jason on the other line of her phone.

She knew it was petty and impulsive, but she ended the call.

And she just stared in the darkness, thinking about what the fuck she had chosen.

_‘Don’t be petty, Laurel’._

**‘But he kind of deserves it’.**

_‘NOT THE POINT’._

Either way she had just refused the call of her life.

And then another call came in, different ID, but she had an idea about who it might be.

“… ‘Rel, I get that you are pissed with me” these were his first words “… which I kind of deserve but…”.

The silence hung heavily between them.

“… you are an idiot”.

“True…” it was his sole answer, before a croaking tone continued “… an idiot in love…”.

“If I could, I would slap you across the face, Jason” she muttered, but honestly the annoyance that filled her voice was just for show “… you are solely an idiot and don’t use the ‘l’ world meanwhile I am angry with you”.

“… I can deal with angry” he replied, something cocky in his tone that just made her want to honestly slap him “… it means that you care about me”.

“You don’t care about me”.

It was a low blow.

“… not true, ‘Rel”.

“Then why whenever I come closer you put distance between us” she felt him rushing to answer her “… and I know about the fact that you don’t want me to be contaminated with whatever bullshit you think will ruin me is so fucking misogynistic…”.

“I don’t think of you as a damsel distress, ‘Rel!” well, he was angry with her too.

She liked that.

She got a genuine reaction from him.

“… and that is because I know that if anything happened to you, I would be utterly destroyed”.

Well, fuck.

He did like Shakespeare a lot.

So, she shouldn’t have been so surprised to know that.

“… then come here and fucking hug me, you, big idiotic doofus”.

“You are adorable when you try to be angry at me, ‘Rel”.

“I am angry at you…” she reinforced “… but I honestly don’t have the strength to be THAT angry with you”.

“… that’s good” he muttered and fuck if Laurel could imagine his face coming closer to the phone, lightly brushing it with his bear as he took in the breath he needed before saying the rest of the phrase “… I also… don’t have the strength to run away from you anymore”.

“If you take on another mission, when you come back, I’ll come with you and then you’ll have to worry about me stepping accidentally on a bomb”.

“As if you already don’t give me enough worries”.

“Listen, your whole family is checking on me, so don’t worry about that” Laurel shot back and Jason couldn’t hide the surprise in his tone “… I kind of… had a sleepover with Damian and Tim, last night”.

“Already ditching me?”.

“Although you are an infuriating asshole… never” this time the surprise was even more evident “… but honestly thought… that you had told them something about…”.

“… maybe they just like you, ‘Rel” that shit-eating grin must be as big as the sun on his face “… exactly as I do”.


	2. 𝗜 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes helping others can be cathartic.
> 
> And involve more people than it is healthy.

_“I wish you would’ve slept in the guest room  
‘Cause maybe I’d still feel alive without you  
I’m pretty sure that all of this was my fault  
I’m the one who kissed you first and took my clothes off”_

**[‘Guest Room’ by Echos](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DsNhvqkNaNxs&t=N2ExNmVkN2E3ZTVlYjIxNTE0ZjkxMGVmZjgxY2I4OTNlZWNlY2M3NCxpUUxIMTRkVw%3D%3D&b=t%3AiRoRvpi-Q2jj48wxQYOGgg&p=https%3A%2F%2Flostoctaviaaugusta.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F639692482063564800%2Fthe-one-time-she-was&m=1&ts=1610134062) **

Jason had literally asked Laurel one sole thing, when he was away for his ‘missions’.

_Don’t get yourself involved in dangerous situations._

**And for somebody who had been brought up with a strict catholic upbringing, Laurel had certainly a knack for ignoring any order that might quell her own self-destructive ways.**

Even more now that Laurel’s and Jason’s relationship was strangely… steady, in a way that made the girl want to finally rest and calm her own anxiety and insecurities, just to lay awake at night at the sole thought of Jason turning her away at his return.

**So, she should have blamed her reckless actions onto the lack of sleep.**

But the truth was that it was all on her.

That morning everything had promised a nice and calming day, interrupted simply by Poison Ivy deigning the police station of a visit as she was brought in with special handcuffs around her hand and a mask face that stopped her from effectively using her deadly kiss.

Batman’s work not the police.

Although Laurel had worked at the police station for almost a year, she hadn’t met many of Gotham’s most infamous villains, mostly because it was Batman and his kids that handled this kind of stuff.

… and Jason.

**Laurel passed her days digitalizing the old archives and taking care of Giblinson as some kind of babysitter.**

So, she had been surprised by the visit of the redhead, who had instead been rather disappointed of being there and when she had been sat down by Laurel’s desk for the identification and sending her main information to Blackgate, through the new technological system that the girl had requested to speed up the process.

**And allow to create a digital archive system.**

**It was easy to lose paper.**

**Either willingly or not.**

Poison Ivy had immediately denied any attempt to collaborate and Laurel couldn’t blame her.

She had ceased her resistance when Laurel had explained that she wouldn’t have to stain her hands with ink and that she would just need a quick sweep of her fingers.

Poison Ivy hadn’t been straight up collaborative after that, but she had certainly allowed the secretary to take in her details, which were then sent to Blackgate.

 ** _‘The plant isn’t dead’_** had commented the redhead, meanwhile Laurel tried to keep herself busy wanting to avoid looking the pretty girl in the eyes after she was done with taking her fingerprints, since she couldn’t deny that the villainess was absolutely gorgeous in a way that bordered danger.

**She had definitely a kink for flirting with danger, if she considered who else she fancied.**

It was definitely all the time that she had spent rejecting her catholic upbringing.

It had taken Laurel a few minutes to understand what the villainess meant as she shot a quick look to the plant on the shelf behind the secretary, definitely still alive and breathing.

_‘… oh yeah, I actually… let’s say that I found out that Giblinson poured in it the protein shakes his wife got ready for him, each morning’._

**Technically Giblinson was Laurel’s superior, but she had quickly settled in the baby-sitter role for the man.**

One of her most important task was trying to avoid letting the man thrown any of the tasteless stuff his wife cooked for him and his heart condition out of the window.

**Or indeed pour it in the plants at the station.**

Laurel also had tried to save up some of the food he refused to eat for the homeless people who sadly spent the night in the holding cells simply for not having any other place to go than the streets.

For somebody who worked in a police station, she hated cops a whole lot.

 ** _‘… Giblinson?’_** at the question, Laurel hadn’t been able to keep on pretending to be working fully at her project, preferring to gently move onto the task of trying to face the redhead, who had smirked at her red cheeks _‘… the idiot who couldn’t even tie his shoelaces has a wife?’._

_‘I ask myself that question each night, before going to sleep’._

Technically that was a lie since the actual question was **‘will Jason already be asleep or dead somewhere?’**.

And then she proceeded not to be able to sleep for the following ten hours.

**Jason, discovering this, had actually insisted that Laurel slept more.**

During the two days in which he had called her, Laurel had fallen asleep meanwhile he was still on the phone, having gently moved the device underneath a pillow to recreate the feeling of hearing Jason’s words on his chest and not a few oceans away.

**_‘You should sleep more’._ **

**_‘Thank you, captain Obvious’._ **

_‘You are starting to become sassy, spending all that time with Judith’._

_‘It’s more like Damian’s haughtiness rubbing onto me’._

On Monday, she had hosted an **F1 rewatch** with her _‘newly-bestest-of-friends’_ , **which meant Judith and Damian crashing in her dining room** as she and the older girl watched the race shows, meanwhile the child tried to understand what was currently going on and eventually drifted onto getting blankets for the two of them when they both passed out, due to exhaustion.

 **Judith had gotten the work at the gallery in Blundhaven** and to say that she was ecstatic was an understatement and Laurel was definitely happy for her, since she could say that she was slowly trying to reclaim a part of her that had been buried deep deep down.

**She was proud of her.**

_Although she had known her for something like barely two days._

She had known Jason for exactly five hours before deeming him the love of her life, so she shouldn’t be that surprised

 _‘… then you admit that you are a brat’_ Jason’s voice had been so warm that Laurel had wanted to cry a protest at the fact that it wasn’t whispering that lewd comment directly into her ear, as he grabbed her closer and closer.

She was too thirsty in this period, honestly.

She would blame it on the pre-menstrual period.

 ** _‘… no, I am a good girl, sir’_** that was payback.

**_‘Laurel, you are always a good girl, but fucking Jesus, if you don’t go to sleep, I’ll spank you’._ **

**So, maybe the reason why that day she had ended up with a broken nose was because she honestly wanted to be spanked by Jason, at his return.**

_‘… we should have a girls-night’_ the villainess had muttered as she was escorted out _‘… be free on Friday of the next month’._

 _Laurel had wanted to say that she was technically being sentenced to at least a few years of jail_ , but she preferred not to backtalk the woman, even more after she had offered to **‘take care of Giblinson’** in a permanent way and suggested her a few places where she could have gotten **‘some good stuff’**.

 _‘… you have a boyfriend, Laurel?’_ she had been rather surprised by the fact that they were both named after plants, which just heightened her interest for the police secretary, as the girl shook her head immediately, all red in the face **‘… girlfriend? Significant other?’.**

 ** _‘As single as a pringle, Pam’_** Laurel had retorted, as she handed over a few documents to Giblinson, although she had already sent the copy of them to Blackgate.

But if she didn’t give the poor man some kind of purpose, he would have been found at the snack machine and she didn’t want his coronaries to burst before his daughter’s ballet final rehearsal.

The girl had once come to the police station and shown Laurel how perfectly she stood on the tip of her toes, enough to deem the cutiepie quite precious and worth saving Giblinson from a premature death.

 _‘… well, too bad…’_ a malicious air had filled her pretty eyes, something sinister in them, which made a shiver run down Laurel’s spine **_‘… or too good, maybe we’ll have some serious fun on that girls-night’_**.

And like that she was gone.

**Well, shit, Jason would have laughed to hearing that she had been hit on by Poison Ivy.**

Part of her was hesitant to trigger his jealousy, because it wouldn’t have worked in the way she wanted it to.

And the sole thought of it made her feel like shit, because it was something that her mother would have done.

**And she fought each day not to be like her mother.**

And, the case that followed Poison Ivy’s one was the one that reminded her of her childhood.

**A case of domestic violence.**

Laurel’s mother had never been physically abusive with either of her child.

If you didn’t count the time that she had put out a cigarette onto Laurel’s sternum when she was a child, and her mother was too drunk to realize that she wasn’t an ashtray.

**But she had been perfectly psychologically abusive to both her children.**

At first Laurel had thought that it was ‘simply’ child neglect.

In the end, many of her fellow friends and schoolmates always complained of having to spend time with their parents, so Laurel had honestly been most of the time glad to be able to avoid her mother, because she was busy with movies, premieres and other stuff she refused to disclose.

But since her womanhood had been arrived her mother had stopped **‘simply’** neglecting her.

**She had immediately noticed that Laurel was the ugly duckling with a few pounds that were just too much.**

_‘Laurel, what do you think eating that shit?’._

_‘Laurel, no, please don’t put that dress or they’ll laugh about you and not about my movie’._

_‘Oh dear, why the fuck I had such a disappointment as a child?’._

It had hurt enough that Laurel couldn’t think about intimacy as a safe place.

And she refused to have children.

Only Victoria had stopped her from effectively tying her tubs permanently.

Victoria had been subjected to a similar form abuse, but it had been more subtle in a way that had ensnared her sister in a toxic net of support with her mother, obliging her to follow in her footsteps and orders, no matter what.

**The perfect daughter and her biggest disappointment.**

**They were that to her mother.**

**Not Victoria and Laurel.**

And they had both reacted in a different way, to their childhood trauma.

Laurel had self-destroyed herself in a flurry of distance and denied chances in her life, meanwhile Victoria had chosen to stick with the journey that hurt less but was at the same time the one that she didn’t want to follow.

Because it wasn’t hers.

And now they were in different stages of life.

**Laurel was slowly accepting that it hadn’t been her fault.**

**That maybe she wasn’t a disappointment.**

**Meanwhile Victoria had her face painted ready to be her mother’s puppet.**

And as a testament of her growth, Laurel didn’t think so angrily of Victoria’s choice.

**It was an inevitable as Laurel’s insecurities.**

It was what her mother had molded them to be and it was as difficult as it was for Laurel to reveal her scars, for Victoria to reveal that she wasn’t her mother.

That she didn’t want to be.

That their mother had abused their minds to put them against each other.

**So, that was why the case touched her personally.**

A mother came in, her face battered and an evident swollen black eye that signaled she shouldn’t have been there but at the hospital with a child in her arms, meanwhile another fidgeted gently with her belt, with a hand attached to it as if he was worried that he would be lost in the swam of men in black and blue.

Laurel couldn’t blame him.

**She had been working for a lot of time in the police station, to the point that she had formed friendships and knew everybody, but the sensation of uneasiness hadn’t died down.**

A man followed after them, shouting obscenities to the woman dragged in and with his hands handcuffed.

Seeing this the woman quickly diverged her eyes onto the ground as if she had already accepted that she was everything he told her that she was, but Laurel’s eyes immediately focused on the male child, the one that held the woman by the belt.

He puffed out his chest and pushed himself to block her mother’s view, although she was quite taller than him.

**The gesture reminded her of Jason.**

Laurel didn’t know why and certainly didn’t want to make some simplified paragon of street rat! Jason and a child that seemed to have it rough as her roommate had had it before he met Bruce.

She knew much of that time.

But Jason had a way to make it seem like a sterile report of facts.

As if he didn’t want Laurel to think too much on it.

 _‘Don’t pity me’_ he told her, with each sober reply.

_‘I don’t want to pity you’._

_‘Then don’t try to fix me’._

_‘How can I fix something that isn’t broken? I just want to show you the gentleness that you deserve’._

**_‘I ain’t nothing special, sweetheart’._ **

**_‘Yeah, but you are human’._ **

So, before she could even realize what she was doing, she had ditched her desk and moved to come near the small family, the woman looking a few minutes from completely breaking apart, meanwhile the boy asked for the child that was in her mother’s arms.

The younger one must have had maximum three years and looked at the scene with the blessed innocence of the years where you start to question everything, and Laurel prayed that she hadn’t yet witnessed the outburst of the scum that the police officers were bringing in the interrogation room.

The older one, who shot her a rather pensive look, examining her from head-to-toe, as she came close to them, must have been seven if not a bit older, since he looked quite famished and Laurel wouldn’t have been surprised if he was actually malnourished in a shirt that was double his size.

 _‘… would you… would like a coffee?’_ she asked to the mother.

She didn’t honestly know what she could do for them, since she wasn’t allowed to directly act in the police investigations and neither she was allowed to bring them away from there.

So, coffee and games were the most she could offer.

The woman still shook her head, and Laurel noticed that her eyes were lightly hazy, as if she wasn’t there with them.

 ** _‘… the children… can go and play with the game room’_** it was a bit… naked, not owning a lot of modern toys, but she guessed that it was somehow comforting to children instead of seeing their mother break up in front of them **_‘… I can stay with them’_**.

 _‘Are you a social worker?’_ the woman’s gaze now became pointed, making Laurel aware of how much she had been inappropriate in her addressing of the matter and the secretary pushed her eyes down onto the ground and shaking her head ‘ ** _… then why would you be interested into helping me?’._**

Laurel knew that beforehand social workers weren’t that much useful in Gotham.

A lot of time if a minor was involved with the crime life in Gotham, it was the crime families that would come forward and ‘solve their problems’.

 _‘… I just think that the child might want… a calm place’_ she hoped the words wouldn’t sound offensive to the woman, but she just kept on her disdained and offended look onto Laurel, examining her clothes, definitely more expensive than hers, that were ratty and had a few signs of stitches that didn’t cover all the holes on them.

The child’s ones were instead flawless although a bit light for the season and too big.

But Laurel couldn’t help but feel like this woman had tried.

Had tried to give everything to her children.

It wasn’t another Estelle Cel.

 _‘… you seem honestly exhausted and a coffee would do you good’_ she proposed with her voice being firm and yet attentive _‘… you can stay in my station, meanwhile you drink it… it is right in front of the game room’._

Because honestly Laurel wouldn’t have blamed her for thinking that she might be some kind of danger to her children.

She was a stranger.

 **‘Mrs. Herpel?’** called out to her Jim, eyeing Laurel immediately, definitely not surprised that she had come closer _‘… your husband…_ ’.

 **‘He isn’t my husband’** the answer was as pointed as it had been with Laurel’s own question _‘… he is my…’_.

 ** _‘… my daddy!’_** chimed in the small children who gently tried to move away from her mother’s arms and onto the ground, helped by her older brother, who was careful in the way he handled her, almost from experience.

Laurel remembered of having done the same with Victoria.

 _‘… he is my partner’_ the woman replied to Jim, something in her sparkling of pure fear, mixed with a misplaced anger **_‘… and he hasn’t done anything! You are forcing him to stay in here, meanwhile he is innocent!’._**

 **‘Your partner was found punching the living shit out of you’** well, Jim wasn’t certainly one for half measures unlike Laurel **‘… if you want to give me a justification for such behavior, I am all ears’**.

The woman looked shocked by such a reply and tried to regain a bit of that burning hatred in her eyes.

**But Jim had broken her shield.**

And it wasn’t fair.

Laurel had to butt in.

 ** _‘Boss, Mrs. Herpel might need a coffee if you have to interrogate her…_** ’ technically it was her who was supposed to be running around getting coffee, but the old man had managed to push himself onto the woman’s nerves in a few minutes _‘… do get her a cup’_.

Jim looked ready to fight with Laurel’s arrogance, but the woman just shot him an annoyed look.

 _‘… black or…?’_ he simply replied swiftly, trying to hide badly the annoyance in his question.

 _‘Black’_ the woman solely answered, then turning to the youngest children _‘… and would you… would you get me a bit of hot milk for the younger one? She has… it helps to calm her down’_.

 _‘Of course’_ scoffed Jim, turning to the older child, who had bene glaring at him since he had at first ‘attacked’ his mother _‘… would you like something, young man?’_.

The boy shook his head, but Laurel whispered to the man to add a cup of hot cocoa to the mix.

In case he wasn’t going to drink it, Laurel wouldn’t have certainly made it go to waste.

Once Jim was out of sight, Mrs. Herpel definitely looked much comfortable, but still not definitely trusting of Laurel, but did sit in her station since she looked quite uncomfortable and halfway through fainting.

 _‘I am sure that you’ll be able to tell, commissioner Gordon, what truly happened’_ Laurel tried to calm her down, as she then turned to the **_children ‘… in the meanwhile, do you want to help me with very important stuff?’._**

 **‘I am not a child!’** protested the older one, and Laurel simply shot him a look as if to say ‘listen, I have had worse. I woke up to a very disgruntled Jason’.

 **‘What very important stuff?!’** asked instead gingerly the female child and Laurel got two snacks out of her bag, the ones that she packed for her low-blood pressure acting up and usually shared with Pearl, since the girl basically ran on sugar and hate for men.

And she had pushed a few into Damian’s pockets because you might never know when a snack is needed.

 ** _‘I need you to make this disappear!’_** and the girl immediately moved to grab the snack in Laurel’s hands, being chastised by her mother since she hadn’t even said ‘thank you’ or ‘please’ _‘… don’t worry, Mrs. Herpel, I work in a mainly male work setting, so don’t worry… I am used to it’._

The boy just looked at her suspiciously and it broke Laurel’s heart.

She had been the same during college.

 _‘… still, you don’t have to…’_ tried to protest Mrs. Herpel but accepted a snack once Laurel shoved it onto her hands _‘… but thank you, say ‘thank you’, Caleb and Innie!’._

And both the children muttered a quick ‘thank you’ to Laurel, who smiled at both of them.

 ** _‘Why do you do it?’_** Caleb asked Laurel once he grabbed his own snack, catching off guard the girl, and immediately Mrs. Herpel went to push him back, to chastise him, but Laurel held her back, gently pushing herself to Caleb’s level, so that he wouldn’t be scared of her.

Not that she was much scary.

 ** _‘… because I’d like to think that if I ever was hungry somebody would offer me a small snack’_** she mumbled softly, reminding herself about how Jason had told her a few nights prior that she tended to make friends with everyone, very easily.

**‘It’s a talent, Laurel’.**

**‘I don’t have that many friends’.**

**‘You have the midget as a friend…’.**

_‘… and I do think that if I eat one more of those, I’ll probably end up on the bathroom’_ her therapist would have hated her for saying that, mostly because she had told her that using self-deprecating humor or generally using self-deprecating comments was bad for her own mental health.

But this got Caleb to smile lightly as he accepted the snack.

Laurel tried to them put the screen of her computer beneath her and the family, to give them a bit of privacy although she could perfectly hear what they were saying, no matter the fact that they were speaking in whispers.

_‘If they ask you, Caleb, you have to say…!’._

_‘Mom, I know’._

_‘… Caleb, you don’t understand…’._

**‘Mrs. Herpel?’** asked softly a younger police officer, offering her the coffee, and waiting by Laurel’s desk, obviously having come there to actually bring the woman to the interrogatory room, instead of simply bringing the refreshments ‘… whenever you are ready’.

Mrs. Herpel downed the coffee in one go and it made Laurel almost wish that she could have asked Jim of something stronger, and then the woman shot the secretary a quick look as if to ask if she would take care of her children, meanwhile she was there.

Laurel simply smirked and moved to get out a few of the antistress things that she kept in her drawers, which personally helped to keep her mind occupied when she was feeling down or simply overthinking the whole matter and immediately Innie seemed overjoyed by Laurel’s small teddy-bear shaped like a bat.

‘Do you want to play Batman, Caleb?’ she asked, not that the other boy had any other chance and Laurel smiled at the annoyed smile on his face, so childish that it finally belonged to his own age, unlike the ugly scowl he had once the police officer had come for their mother.

 _‘I am coming back, in a few minutes, don’t bother Mrs…?’_ and she shot Laurel a quick look.

 **‘… Laurel’** she offered, definitely not wanting to introduce herself with her mother’s name.

**_‘Don’t bother, Mrs. Laurel’._ **

Easier said than done, because in a few minutes Innie was pushing her hands down Laurel’s drawer, wanting to see whether she had more stuffed animals there and Laurel had to push her back quite quickly since she had her birth control pills also there.

 _‘Innie, leave the lady alone’_ commented Caleb and the girl just showed her tongue to the boy, meanwhile Laurel gently convinced her to back off with the promise of the hot milk, meanwhile the boy sat down attentively on the chair in front of her to drink his own hot cocoa _‘… thank you, Mrs. Laurel’_.

 _‘You’ll make me feel old with that’_ she muttered lightly, as she settled softly Innie onto her lap, as she had done so many times with Victoria _‘… just Laurel is fine, and I hope hot cocoa is fine… it’s my favorite so I thought…’._

 **‘It’s perfect, Mrs. … I mean… Laurel’** muttered Caleb, hiding his face in the cup, meanwhile Innie played with Laurel’s elegant sweater, the pretty shiny color definitely attracting her attention, till she moved to try to play with the computer on her desk **‘… Innie! She needs to work! Stop being a baby!’**.

 **‘Well, she is a child’** bumped in Laurel, who gently pushed Innie in her arms, as she stood up, wanting to put her away from the screen as long as she had a glass of milk in her hand.

She had had a similar accident with water and her phone and Jason still howled at her trying to put the whole thing in rice.

**_‘She should know better’._ **

Something dark filled his eyes, as he pushed his hands into fists.

But then he released it all, his anger scaring himself.

Laurel rushed to him gently making Innie sit beside him, although the girl held onto her hair gently, trying to braid them messily, meanwhile Caleb turned his head away not to face Laurel, obviously ashamed, but the girl made him turn towards her gently.

And noticed that there were darkish bruises on his neck.

**He had been choked recently.**

**‘You need to go to the hospital’.**

**‘Not please don’t!’** pleaded the body, touching Laurel’s hand that had tried to move to touch the bruise.

Both to protect himself and plead Laurel.

 _‘This is serious, Caleb!’_ she didn’t mean to act like his mother, but if there was one thing that she had learned taking care of Jason was **that asphyxiation could be one of the most dangerous things** , because although the damage couldn’t be perceived it was there _‘… we need to check you up’._

 **‘He was angry!’** now it was Caleb who looked panicked and Innie moved lightly away, almost **scared ‘… he didn’t mean it… mom said that… mom said it wouldn’t happen again… and that we can’t go to the hospital… the money… and the police…’.**

_The hospital would have asked questions._

**They would have taken a good look at Mrs. Herpel’s face and thought that she was an unfit mother.**

Commissioner Jim had thought it.

And they would have taken away her children.

And the foster system wasn’t the best thing ever.

And yet, it would have kept them from the horrid animal who had done those things to her and Caleb.

And maybe Innie.

 ** _‘… dad… he screams a lot… but he loves us…’_** whispered the small child against her hair, trying to pull on them to get Laurel to turn her attention to her and leave Caleb alone, as a protective reflex that made the girl choke.

**What had these children gone through to make them each other’s protector?**

**_‘… either way, he shouldn’t touch Caleb like that’_** she muttered, knowing that since she wasn’t related to them there wasn’t much that she could do, except report the bruises, but she didn’t know if she would have done them a favor or not.

If they got into the foster system, they would have been separated without a doubt.

And Laurel could understand just how traumatic that was.

When she was fourteen, Laurel had lived her worst year in her whole life, she had gained weight overnight, alongside her first menstruation and got heavily bullied for starting to fancy girls aside from boy **, but the worst thing was that** **Victoria hadn’t been with her, back then.**

 ** _‘… and you should definitely get it checked up’_** she didn’t mean to scare the children, explaining to them that the lack of oxygen was extremely dangerous for children, but Caleb definitely needed physical help and to get out of the reach of his ‘father’.

She doubted they would have been able to put up a case of domestic violence if Mrs. Herpel didn’t file one against him, which was kind of impossible, since Laurel doubted that the woman would have done such a thing, worried for her child and thinking that she could be his punching bag.

She wouldn’t have called selfish, when Laurel obviously didn’t know the whole situation, but she hoped she could something more.

Caleb nodded and then Laurel tried to brighten the atmosphere.

And the whole ‘thing’ had happened, meanwhile Innie finished her messy braid in Laurel’s thin hair, meanwhile Caleb finished what looked like math homework, as the secretary looked over them, pointing out if she found mistakes to help him.

Still, Laurel immediately noticed when the child flinched as Laurel moved closer.

And even more when a male voice booed nearby, his roaring arrogance signaling that the man would gone unpunished.

The man looked actually very clean and somehow Laurel hated that she hadn’t pictured such a charming man, doing a horrible act.

In the movies, the news and everything else it was always the poor and angry beating their wives.

But she guessed reality was farther apart from that.

Everybody could be a monster.

Especially in Gotham.

Still, the arrogance that radiated from that man showed clearly his true nature.

He was talking with an officer, as he approached Laurel’s station.

One of the corrupted ones.

 **‘… you obviously understand… this can’t go out… you know, Lance, I love my wife… but… she can be a handful, so… I have to do what a man has to… get somebody else to do the work, I don’t know if you understand…’** _‘Laurel, stop thinking about the fun that Jason left at your workplace… you’ll get fired if not arrested for it’_ **‘… and then that fucking bitch just has the courage to be fucking ungrateful… I mean… I pay for her fucking apartment… the least she can give me is a bit… of thankfulness, if you know what I mean’.**

 _‘Lower your voice, sir’_ Laurel had hissed, loud enough to be heard by the man, although he was a few steps away from her.

But he got her attention.

And he glared at her.

And Laurel held his gaze.

‘Oh, sweetheart, I went through a whole mind exam with Batman, so you are as scary as the Easter bunny’.

And she technically knew that she should have been scared, like that man was twice her size in both weight and height and quite muscly, but somehow all that she felt for that man was utter disgust.

And she didn’t hide it.

He simply ignored it but caught on the fact that Innie was in Laurel’s laps.

And he quickly moved to push her in a hug, sweeping her in the air, meanwhile Caleb’s eyes lowered further in his book, as if it could eat him whole and Laurel gently shifted closer to him, pushing herself as a barrier, meanwhile the man made Innie giggle softly.

 ** _‘Oh, look my pretty pretty princess!’_** he chanted softly, throwing the child in the air, meanwhile Laurel tried not to cringe at that sight, as the police officer with whom he was talking with smiled at the whole scene.

As if it was normal.

As if he hadn’t beaten to death his partner and choked Caleb.

 _‘… we’ll go home, soon, once your mom has finished with her…’ shot_ Innie a conspiratorial look _‘… silly stuff’._

 **‘Do go to the hospital first’** Laurel knew that she was speaking out of her place, but if she had to be in the presence of this man for longer than intended, she would have gladly told him a few ‘nice **things’ ‘… your son has bruises on his neck, asphyxia is dangerous, so I would suggest checking on him…’.**

‘That bastard isn’t my son’ the man’s tone was so glacial that even Innie who was in his arms, tried to subtly push away from him, as his gaze set on Laurel ‘… and I won’t take suggestion from a lowly secretary’.

Laurel wanted to tell him that if she pulled the right strings this secretary could have him dead by morning.

 _‘… Al, calm down’_ tried to subtly mutter the cop that was with him, since it was renown that Laurel was particularly dear to Jim _‘… go back home and get a lawyer, I am sure that she won’t even think about moving anything against the hands that feeds her’._

 **‘You are right’** his smile was pure victory and Laurel honestly wished that she could use the left hook that Willis had taught her, but restrained herself, not wanting to cause a scene and neither to risk the man taking his anger out on the child, once at home.

And the man seemed to be halfway through moving, completely forgetting about Caleb, the boy quickly following after him as he pushed the books in his bag swiftly and Laurel helped him gently, offering him a soft smile and gently offering him a string of paper with her private number.

**‘Call me, if you feel in danger’.**

And the gesture immediately caught the little shit’s eyes.

 _‘What do you think you are doing?’_ he asked, coming into Laurel’s space quite quickly, meanwhile she tried to calm down, evaluating the situation _‘… mind your fucking business, bitch’._

 _‘That’s all you can do, can’t you?’_ ‘ **Laurel fucking shut up’.**

She was starting to develop a personal Jason in her brain.

Sadly, it was still a very weak influence.

 _‘… beating women who you knew can’t hit you back and calling them ‘bitch’…’_ in her defense, she had indeed spent too much time with Damian **‘… can you even get it up?’**.

**And then her world went black, for a few minutes.**

**And when she came back to see the light her fucking nose hurt like a bitch.**

_‘Please, please, please… not my fucking teeth… not my fucking teeth…’ she_ had been bullied too much for wearing her braces when she was a child.

And then something warm gently dropped onto her hand.

And she slowly opened the eyes that she had kept closed, finding that the man who had punched her was being restrained by a few police officers, meanwhile Pearl came forward with tissue paper to help Laurel, meanwhile the girl pushed herself face down to get the whole blood out.

One of the few things that she had actually learned at her first aid course was that if things like this happened.

And then Jim appeared.

 _‘What the fuck is going on?!’_.

And then he took in Laurel’s bleeding nose.

And that was the reason why she was at the hospital again.

A month later.

The nurses that had actually cured her bullet wound were now currently looking at her with bewildered eyes, as they waited for a doctor to check in if Laurel’s nose was broken or not.

**“… it could have been worse”.**

**_“Explain to me how it could have been worse”_** replied beside her Jim, turning to Laurel with pure anger in his eyes.

**“Did I actually… did I actually say that out loud?”.**

_“I’ll tell them to check out if you have a brain concussion”_ muttered back the commissioner, adjusting in the small plastic chair in the waiting room _“… and if you even have a brain… what the fuck were you thinking, Laurel? Coming like that to a man twice your size!”_.

**“Should have gone for the groin”.**

**“Should phone your boyfriend?”.**

**‘Ahem, no, he already thinks that I am danger hazard’.**

_“He is probably asleep”_ she muttered lightly, as she tried to focus on her hand, since Jason was something that she had tried to keep a secret from Jim Gordon, trying to avoid letting too many details and emotions leave her mouth _“… no need to make him worry, in the middle of the night, for something that isn’t even a broken nose”._

 **“Have you two fought?”** muttered lightly Jim, as his hands toyed with a confection of cigarettes.

 _“Just… mixed signals”_ Laurel replied lightly, focusing her face onto a vaccination program for children to avoid her gaze wavering and revealing to Jim Gordon that she had no clue if what he thought was a relationship, truly was _“… we are… steady… but also… I don’t know if he wants the same thing as me…”._

Which was a polite way to say ** _: ‘I don’t know if he wants me’_**.

She honestly felt bad for involving her boss in her love problematics.

She hadn’t wanted to, but at the same time there wasn’t many people that she truly trusted in Gotham.

And Victoria didn’t probably want to hear about her.

 _“… sometimes… it is easier than it looks”_ muttered Jim, pushing a cigarette between his lips, as if the gesture gave him some kind of comfort, reminding Laurel the way Jason took his smoking business out of her apartment, knowing that she didn’t like it.

And a pointed look from a nurse, reminded Jim that they were in a hospital.

 **“… and you don’t have to put with some boy’s bullshit”** oh, that was the side of Jim who was definitely the _‘shotgun father’_ to Laurel, which reminded her of Willis.

**She hadn’t talked with him in a long time, exactly like she hadn’t with Victoria.**

They had both kept their contacts after her mother had fired him, and they exchanged gifts for their birthdays and Christmas, her own ready just to be sent in her Amazon shopping cart, but she hadn’t picked up the phone in a long time.

**She made a mental note to check on him.**

She had been so wrapped up in her own personal drama, that she had forgotten about them.

 _“You are right, commissioner”_ she shot back **_“… so, you obviously see why I had to do something with the idiot back at the station”._**

**“You are reckless and a danger for yourself, Laurel”.**

**“Those are sweet compliments!”.**

_“Cellini!”_ called a nurse, and the girl followed her quickly with Jim on her trail as they examined her nose, quickly proving that it wasn’t broken and neither were her teeth (which got a smile of relief from her, meanwhile the doctor prodded her aching nose).

There was bad news still.

**_‘… Mrs. Cellini, it’s the second time in a month you received an injury in your face, which might entail a possible brain injury, so you either find somebody who will check up on you for the following hour, or you’ll have to stay here till tomorrow morning”._ **

Perfect.

 **“She’ll stay in here”** insisted Jim, as Laurel shot him an annoyed look as if to say ‘dad, are you _serious’ “… Laurel, it is better to keep you here so that you’ll be checked, and the doctors will make sure that you won’t risk anything…”._

 **“… and I won’t able to put myself in danger”** completed Laurel, huffing out as the nurse send her a pitying look.

 _“You read my mind, Cellini”_ but he wasn’t immune to Laurel’s glare _“… what? You have healthcare in your contract…”._

Laurel signaled to him to come closer.

 **“… I am scared of hospitals”** she whispered in his ear.

Technically it wasn’t exactly the truth.

She didn’t have a problem with hospitals.

**But she hated the sole thought of being left there alone.**

**“… please don’t leave me, here” fuck why she sounded so much like a scared child “… I’ll ask somebody to come over and help me out, but please, don’t leave me to rot here…”.**

That must have definitely caught Jim’s attention, because he asked for her discharge papers.

_“… then, Laurel, you are coming to my house, so I can get Barbara to keep an eye on you”._

Oh, perfect, she was going to get the shovel talk from the redhead.

But it was better than simply staying in the hospital.

**“… perfect”.**

She was given painkillers by the pharmacy, after they pushed her nose back in place, and adjusted the uncomfortable angle with a few splints to keep it in place, and she was already a bit drowsy for having been given painkillers for all the process.

The new ones ended up in the first bin she could find.

Jim didn’t say anything, although he drove her to his house, since he would have to go back to the station and handle a few things.

Laurel was sure that her case was up in his priorities.

Technically she hadn’t followed what had happened after the punch had landed on her pretty face, but Pearl had kept her up, sending her messages that informed her that the man who had hit was being held with the accuse of violence against a police officer.

Which was quite heavy.

And they were waiting for his lawyer.

Slowed down by the fact that the man obviously didn’t want his wife to know what was truly happening.

Which was helping the police in instituting a case against the man.

Laurel might not be liked by everyone.

But she certainly was treasured by everyone, since she was the braincell of the station.

 _‘… don’t worry, baby, we got this’_ had been Pearl’s last message as Jim left her outside of his house, standing there till he made sure that Laurel got inside, unable to accompany her, since he was truly ‘badly’ requested, being the second braincell of the station.

And honestly Laurel was happy not to be babied anymore.

Babs definitely didn’t look surprised to see her as she opened the door.

If Laurel had learned something in living with a vigilante, it was the fact that everything was proofed to the max, to make sure that nothing unexpected came their way.

And she immediately noticed the small cameras on the angle of the door.

 **“Laurel!”** welcomed her inside the red-head gently _“… my dad isn’t with you, right?”._

 **“Had stuff to deal with at the station”** muttered Laurel, as she dragged herself inside _“… we got a bad case this morning and also Poison Ivy was brought in by Batman, so…”._

 _“Yeah, that is the kind of stuff that makes him stay”_ Barbara definitely seemed to speak of experience and Laurel wondered whether she had worked at the case of Poison **_Ivy “… Dick, by the way you can come out, it is only Laurel!”._**

**What the honest fuck?!**

In a few minutes the blue-eyed vigilante came in making Laurel stare at him.

But his sheepish smirk was quickly substituted by a worried glare as he took in your nose.

**“What the heck happened to your nose?!”.**

She wanted to retort:

_‘Why were you hiding from the commissioner?’._

_“… told somebody that he couldn’t get it up”_ replied lightly Laurel, as if it wasn’t big deal.

Dick’s face definitely became grey and Barbara held a laugh for a few minutes, before giving in and laughing right in Laurel’s face.

 _“I just have three things to tell you…”_ replied swiftly the red-head, meanwhile Dick looked halfway through vomiting **“… first of all: good, I don’t even need to know why, but good, secondly: that’s Jason’s influence, I am sure, third: he’d be so proud of you, Laurel!”.**

 _“He is going to kill us, Babs!”_ shot back Dick, as if it was the most obvious thing _“… Babs, I am too pretty to die!”._

**“Shut up, Dick, I want to hear the full story behind this!”.**

**“… first of all… we don’t even to tell Jason about this…” bumped** in Laurel, because she would have highly preferred Jason not knowing about this whole ‘incident’ _“… secondly, some douchebag just thought that he could disrespect all the women in the world, just because he had money, so I told him that he was using all of this to correct his little problem down there”._

 _“I should have known that you were another reckless angry chicken, when you almost ran into an exploding building…”_ Dick whispered annoyedly, catching Babs’ attention.

 ** _“You don’t have to be my babysitters!”_** shot back Laurel _“… right now, I just want to crash on the couch and watch ‘Criminal Minds’, so if you are done with the questions I will…”._

 **“… I’ll guide you to the guestroom”** muttered Barbara, meanwhile Dick kept on having an existential _crisis “… do you want anything to drink or eat? Do you have meds to take?”._

 _“Technically, since it isn’t swollen, I have just a bit of healing cream for it, and pain meds, which I won’t take…”_ explained quickly Laurel, knowing that her nose beneath everything wasn’t definitely normal and Dick, who was trained to see worst wounds, would have cried or _fainted “… just need to be kept awake in case of a head concussion, although I doubt it…”._

**“A HEAD CONCUSSION?!”.**

_“… gotcha”_ replied Barbara _“… I am going to let you alone to settle inside, please shout for everything and I’ll come to check on you”._

 _“Just because Jim treats me like a daughter, you don’t have to…”_ tried to joke lightly Laurel, but Barbara’ eyes were definitely stricter than Jim’s.

She had learned it from Bruce, she would have put a lot of money on it.

**“… we are sisters, now, stay up and call me, little one”.**

And like that she wheeled away, probably to comfort Dick.

And Laurel honestly didn’t understand his worry, but it might have been the brain concussion she didn’t want to acknowledge.

And in the end, the most that she could do was actually settle down onto the bed and get out her phone to watch indeed ‘Criminal Mind’, which lulled her softly in a state that was halfway through being asleep, but definitely calmed down her nerves, as the painkillers’ effectiveness washed off, leaving her in a bunch of pain.

Which wasn’t eased up by her own anxiety.

Because the haze procured by the painkillers definitely didn’t make her think that if the case went through, she’d have to testify.

**And knowing how things went in Gotham, he was going to win.**

**Although there were numerous witnesses.**

**She wanted to puke, now.**

So, she got up and trying to remember where the bathroom was, when she had last been there, but it proved to be quite more difficult than she had thought, and eventually she stumbled into a rather interesting story, happening in the dining room.

 ** _“… Dick, I am just… worried about you…”_** muttered Babs, meanwhile Laurel basically pushed herself against the wall **_“… she is… she is an ex-assassin, Talia’s right hand!”._**

Were they talking about Judith?

_“She is different, Babs! You’d know about it, if you hang out with us!”._

**Well, that was… surprising.**

Laurel knew that Judith was slowly developing a crush onto Dick, although the girl, herself didn’t think of it as more than a helping hand.

But they were adorable.

To Laurel.

And the way Dick had replied to Babs was just…

… was the words she wanted Jason to hear.

_‘I chose you, Laurel’._

Babs seemed taken aback by Dick’s words and although Laurel couldn’t see her, since she had her shoulder turned to her, she could see a bit of the boy’s blushing reply, as if he had revealed much more than he had thought he should have.

 _“… I am sorry, I shouldn’t have screamed at you…”_ he rushed to make it all better.

 _“It’s okay, I am sorry to have actually…”_ Babs’ words came with difficulty and Laurel could understand it.

She didn’t know much about their relationship, aside from the gossip she had heard with Jason, which meant that according to him, they were the ‘perfect couple’, but it was always a case of ‘the perfect person at the wrong time’.

And it was tiring on the long run.

She wondered if Jason felt the same towards her.

**_“… to have implied… she is… bad”._ **

Judith was the farthest thing from bad, according to Laurel.

When she laughed, she snorted.

She liked insulting Laurel in Spanish and promised her to teach her chess.

She took care of Damian as one would with an annoying little child.

Judith could be bad.

But she wasn’t.

 _“… I just get worried, you know… you are…”_ a soft breath left her lips and in that moment Laurel realized how private that scene was and retreated a bit to allow them a it of space, choosing to go back to her room to try to find the bathroom again, just for it to appear on her left.

She quickly washed her face, mindful of her nose and focusing onto her eyes to keep herself awake.

And she startled badly, when somebody knocked on the bathroom.

 _“Laurel, everything alright?”_ it was Dick’s voice **_“… please don’t be passed out”._**

 _“Thank you for the confidence boost_ ” replied, Laurel, quickly closing the water **“… I am actually dead, avenge me”**.

**“… oh, you and Jason are both drama queens!”.**

_“Want to see the knife trick Jason also taught me_ ” she replied as the door opened for her to face the blue-eyed vigilante, who was smirking as if he was indeed used to this.

And Laurel guessed that it probably happened to him many times than she might think.

With Damian as his brother.

_“… cool, want to see me to teach you some gymnastics?”._

_“Did you just hit on me?”_ Laurel smirked at that, definitely thinking it was an innuendo, just for Dick to do a handstand in that moment.

Was anybody normal in that family?

… actually, about family.

 _“… Dick, actually… can I ask a favor of you?”_ Laurel was about to get her sister the best Christmas gift ever.

Although they hadn’t talked in so long.

**_“… does it involve violence?”._ **

_“Listen… me and Jason… are indeed besties, but not that much”_ she shot back, just for Dick to wiggle his eyebrow at the **‘besties’ _“… no I actually… my sister is a big fan of Nightwing, can you send me a video of you saying ‘hello to here’_** “.

She thought that if she had asked Jason, he would have threatened her.

But Dick definitely seemed much chiller.

And the painkillers made her bold.

 _“… ok”_ that wasn’t a _‘no’_ **_“… didn’t know that you had any siblings”._**

 ** _“I have just a younger sister”_** ‘who hates me’ **_“… also… Dick you know… the actress you said I looked familiar to?”._**

There was no need to hide this kind of things, if she and Jason ended up together.

Which she doubted but.

 _“… yeah, yeah!”_ now Dick’s eyes were sparkling _“… I actually saw another of her movie recently, she was pretty good! You two have the same eye color…!”_.

**“That’s my mom”.**

**“What?!”.**

**“Estelle Cel is my mom”** Laurel thought of having broken Dick for a few minutes _“… her real name is Cristiana Cellini, same surname as me…”._

_“Then why didn’t you tell me, back then?!”._

_“… because I didn’t know you…?”_ she started as they moved away finally from the threshold of the bathroom **“… and the fact that she is my mother doesn’t mean that I actually acknowledge her role as my mother in my life”.**

 ** _“That definitely makes you one of us, Laurel”_** muttered Dick, as he grabbed one of her hands with a dramatical sigh **_“… you are as fucked up as us”._**

 **“Dick!”** reprimanded him Barbara.

 _“… Babs, you weren’t there when Bruce gave us the discourse ‘please don’t scare the civilian away’ “_.

 ** _“And you went through it, completely disregarding it?”_** it was Laurel’s sole annoyed reply, before she realized what the entire thing meant “… wait… Bruce seriously gave you that kind of… speech?”.

 _“And Jason gave us the ‘watch over here, meanwhile I clean your mess’ “_ Dick definitely talked too much.

**This time even inappropriately.**

Because Babs shot him a look that meant ‘he’ll have your head when he comes back’.

_“… is this whole due to the painkillers or are you serious?”._

Because Jason hadn’t told her that he had had his ‘brothers’ and ‘family’ track her down, like that.

And she didn’t know whether she should be happy or not.

It definitely made her feel protected and involved.

But she could handle thing on her own.

She was a protector, not the one who needed to be protected.

Even thought she didn’t sound believable.

 ** _“Jason is worried about you”_** commented softly Babs, definitely quieter than Dick, who had settled onto pushing himself on a sofa _“… and I mean… you kind of are indeed a bit reckless…”._

**“I like the term ‘danger magnet’ “.**

_“She even got the secret identity thing!”._

_“Dick!”_ and Babs turned again to Laurel **_“… we got told to back off, but also to keep tabs and help you if you need it”._**

 _“… that’s cool”_ she just missed the finger guns in the awkwardness of the whole thing and was secretly grateful to her grumbling stomach to interrupt this emotional moment, and Babs suggested that she went to get a bit of food for both she and Dick, since they hadn’t eaten lunch, yet.

Alone she and Dick were strangely awkward, although they both tried to play it cool sat on the opposite sides of the sofa.

 _“… by the way for the video thing…”_ attracted her attention Dick, once Laurel’s eyes delved onto her fingers, playing with the rings there _“… I can do it, but just know that we are never ever going to talk about it, ever”._

 _“Thank you, Dick, I truly appreciate it”_ there was something vulnerable in Dick without Babs,

Laurel’s guess was that the discourse about Judith had left him somehow raw.

And meanwhile she wanted to reassure him that Judith liked’ his fancy hair and butt’, it would have meant that she had been nosier than she should have been.

Which was quite the pun, actually.

 ** _“Don’t worry”_** replied the boy, sitting onto the sofa in a slumped position that couldn’t be as comfortable as Dick made it seem **_“… I kind of am a circus child, so I like performing… actually, as the daughter of an actress, don’t you like the spotlight too?”._**

It was a bad attempt at conversation, but it got Laurel out of the haze of her swollen nose.

 **“… not in the slightest”** that was the main reason why she had pushed for a job in the educational system, since it would mean a job that was fundamental and helpful to others but allowed her to stay out of the spotlight _“… but I do know how to make impressions of others”._

**“Seriously?!”.**

And to prove it, Laurel molded her face in the sweetest smile she could form, making sure to make her eyes shine with hope, before screeching with a childish voice, even more high-pitched than her own:

_“Oh Gosh, Batman, we brought justice to Gotham!”._

_“Hey!”_ Dick’s protest was weak amid his laughs **_“… that was more Tim than me and Jason”._**

_“… you were the one who wore the original speedo”._

_“Dug up a lot about us, too?”_ shot back Dick with a small wink to Laurel, effectively getting her to blush.

**_“Just Jason being talkative”._ **

_“… he is never talkative with us”_ now the innuendo was obvious _**“… just saying that he is very at ease with you”.**_

 _“We are just…”_ the pain of breathing caught her off guard as she breathed harshly **“… similar, in the way that counts, which means literary taste”**.

Dick gave her the ‘not completely convinced look’ typical of older brothers and Laurel wondered whether she was the same with Victoria.

**“He likes you”.**

**“He doesn’t”.**

**“Little wing and Laurel… sitting on a tree… K-I-S…”.**

And then Babs bumped inside, something having definitely shocked, as she came inside with Laurel’s phone, basically throwing it to Laurel, who immediately took the hint to properly answer it.

**“Ahem… hello…”.**

**“… Mrs. Laurel?”** it was Caleb’s voice _“… Mrs. I am sorry for calling you…”._

 _“No, don’t worry, sweetie”_ she replied lightly, sending immediately the fragile voice of the boy **_“… where are you, sweetheart?”._**

 ** _“He said… he said that he’ll put me and my mother on the street”_** he was crying so softly that it broke her utterly, but it didn’t end there _“… he… he is going to walk free… the police can’t hold him…”._

~~Fuck, fuck, fuck.~~

She had known that, but she had thought that the man would at least stay inside for a few more days, enough to give to Caleb and his family a bit of peace to move away, probably under the various charities that helped single mothers.

**_“… sweetheart, are you at the police station?”._ **

**_“No, no I am at home…”_** Laurel screenshotted the number, knowing that it would be helpful in finding him _“… but Al said that… he’ll get men to get me and my mother out of the house… I am scared… my mom is scared… that he’ll come back”._

 _ **“Don’t worry, Caleb”**_ she knew that her words wouldn’t have done much _“… I won’t let him get to you, Innie and your mom, just stay where you are and do contact me if he shows up”._

_“Ok, Mrs. Laurel”._

**_“I can stay on the line, meanwhile everything goes on”._ **

**_“Mom, said not to call you… she…”_** she didn’t trust Laurel and the girl couldn’t fault her for that _“… I shouldn’t be on the phone, she’ll be mad if she catches me talking with you… I have to hang up, but I do promise to call you, if anything happens, Mrs. Laurel”._

 _“Good boy”_ Laurel comforted him softly _“… you did very good, calling me… I’ll protect you, I swear it”._

**“Thank you, Mrs. Laurel”.**

And then he hung up.

And Laurel’s work started.

 _“Why did a child just call you?”_ asked Barbara confused, meanwhile understanding passed through Dick’s eyes as they settled onto Laurel.

 ** _“Ever thought about joining the Robin program?”_** he muttered, turning to Barbara with a knowing look.

 _“Wouldn’t look good in spandex”_ Laurel replied quickly, pushing to turn to Barbara _“… it’s the case of this morning… the man… the one that punched him, had had a round with his own wife and her children and he’ll walk free, if I don’t do anything against it”._

 ** _“Well, then we have to help you”_** bumped in Dick as if it was the most obvious of things.

_“You don’t…”._

_“Don’t try protest against his help, it isn’t helpful”._

**_“I am not the one who convinced Batman with a half-assed cape made by herself”._ **

_“I’ll shove the cape up your ass…!”._

_**“Guys!”**_ Laurel attracted their attention _“… not helping”._

That got them to focus on her again, with an apology on their lips.

 ** _“If the justice won’t do something, then we’ll have to play dirty”_** that’s what she had learned from Jason _**“… if there is one thing that man like that fear more than prison, it is being exposed, so I need to gather dirt on him… except, I don’t’ know their name, surname or…”.**_

 _“Well, you have a tech genius near you”_ muttered Dick, pointing with his thumb to Barbara **“… we’ll find that man”.**

_“Just give me a few minutes to get my computer and pass me all the info you have about this man”._

**Laurel hadn’t expected them to help her.**

Like it wasn’t related to any of the usual baddies in Gotham and neither it was something that was directly related to them.

It could get them in trouble.

But she wasn’t going to say no.

~~Blame it on the painkillers.~~

_“… thank you”._

_**“Don’t worry, Laurel, small dick energy will be the one kicked out this time”.** _

A few minutes later Barbara had found who the man was.

**Al Trien, who actually worked in the Wayne enterprises in a high position of power.**

**A nice family with two daughters and a wife that looked much younger than him.**

**He didn’t have anything written in his records, aside from a few classified elements that Barbara hacked in.**

He had been violent when he was just a teen towards a girlfriend and once tried to force himself on a girl passed out, but there was a way to use this news against him, since they were pretty much gathered illegally and sadly, they had to stop, since Barbara couldn’t risk getting involved.

It would have been easy to think she had done it, and for it to end up falling onto her father’s role.

**Laurel couldn’t ask that out of her.**

_‘But don’t worry…’_ had replied softly Dick, with a twinkle of mischievousness in his eyes _‘… we don’t lack of computer geniuses, so we’ll get to the second-best option, Tim’._

So, Laurel for the second time in two weeks ended up at the Wayne Manor.

**Alfred looked delighted to see her.**

Aside from when he noticed her nose.

_**“… Mrs. Cellini, I am extremely glad of seeing you there, but your nose, poor creature!”.** _

_“Don’t worry, Alfred, I am fine”_ sometimes she thought she wouldn’t survive till the next breath, but hey… **she was still alive.**

 ** _“… is Time home, Alfred?”_** asked more directly Dick, playing with an apple to seem less suspicious possible, although Laurel could feel his eyes burning onto her as he lowered his head.

 _“… in his room, upstairs”_ the butler muttered, with much more discretion than he seemed to have _“… do tell him to get a shower before tonight’s dinner”._

 ** _“Will do, Alfie”_** replied immediately Dick, as he moved dragging Laurel along with him, as the girl waved to the butler, who wanted to know whether she’d be staying with them for the night.

**‘Oh no, Mrs. Cellini over here has a date with me and Babs and scrabble’.**

**‘I’ll crush you, Dick’.**

**‘Please tell me that you aren’t as good at it as you are at poker’.**

**‘I am better!’.**

And when they entered in Tim’s lair, their ‘argument’ wasn’t yet finished, but they were startled by the massive chaos in the boy’s room, although Laurel was quite the chaotic person, herself, but there was a hoarding of thing in that room that gained its smell of pure stench.

 ** _“… TimTam!”_** called out annoyedly Dick, but it didn’t seem to catch the boy’s attention, his face shifted to one of the screens of his computer _**“… Tim!”.**_

This time he startled, and Laurel had a half idea that the child had fallen asleep.

Technically she knew that he wasn’t a child.

Laurel knew it.

But it was hard not to think of him as a child, when he was barely taller than her and weighting much less.

 _“… Dick…”_ Tim muttered, taking him with tired and red eyes, moving then to meet Laurel’s figure _“… Laurel with a broken nose… wait broken nose?!”._

 _ **“… long story”**_ replied Laurel at that.

 ** _“Long story short, Jason will kill us”_** and Dick nodded beside Laurel, making her release an exasperated huff.

 ** _“No, he won’t”_** she replied sternly _“… but… we need your help”._

**_“Oh… yeah… I mean… demon spawn is gentler thank to you, so you can have my left kidney if you need…”._ **

_**“We need you to expose somebody”**_ bumped in Dick, making Laurel uneasy at that thought.

She knew that Tim wouldn’t have accepted that proposal if he didn’t think that it would have been improper.

But were they seriously doing something good?

She was using somebody for her own bidding.

Then she remembered the handprints on Caleb’s neck.

 _ **“… oh illegal, love it”**_ commented the boy, turning to his computer _“… illegal is my second name”._

 ** _“It isn’t”_** added Dick _“… his name is Al Trien, he works at …”._

 ** _“… WE… I know”_** muttered Tim, as he continued on clicking the keyboard, as a window with the man’s photo appeared on the screens “ _… I am the CEO, there. And let me tell you, this man is a pain in the ass. And a PR nightmare… a lot of secretaries accused him of harassment… but he got most of them fired, before the cases could even pass through me… the latest one was a certain Mrs. Herpel…”._

 _ **“That’s Caleb’s mother!”**_ jumped in Laurel _“… that fucking bastard!”._

 **“So, I’d love to expose this man”** finished Tim _“… I have Vicky Vale on the line, and the Gotham Gazette on the other, also… Twitter, wonderful place to get cancelled on…”._

 ** _“That’s wonderful”_** and complicatedly scary.

Laurel wondered if Tim had dug up on here past.

Dick had seemed surprised to know that she was related to Estelle, but she wondered whether Tim had followed Bruce’s example of searching stuff on her.

And what he thought about her.

 ** _“… can I… I have a better idea…”_** bumped in Laurel, knowing perfectly that even if they got that man exposed, he would have pushed his anger onto Caleb’s and Innie’s mother, and she preferred not to be the cause of more violence **_“… can you… can you contact him and tell him that we’ll expose all his dirtiest secrets if he doesn’t leave Mrs. Herpel and any other woman alone?”._**

 ** _“Blackmail?”_** Dick seemed surprised.

 ** _“You and Jason certainly found each other”_** bumped in Tim.

 ** _“… would you just focus on the task at hand?_ ”** Laurel breathed out, not wanting to hear more about all this stuff, because it was starting to honestly get on her nerves.

 _“I can do that”_ muttered Tim _“… I’ll drink a bit of Monster… not Red Bull”._

Laurel had threatened him after he had brought one in her house, after his ‘pit-stop’ at her house to check on his suit, once he had almost got injured.

**_‘Why do you and Judith hate Red Bull so much?’._ **

**_‘We hate Chris Horner that much’._ **

_“… good”_ she simply muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

 _“She is scary”_ added Tim, as Dick nodded.

**_“I mean… she is Damian’s best friend… and she and Judith get along!”._ **

**_“I am still here, idiots!”._ **

**_“Are we having a family intervention?”_** that was the moment that Duke appeared with a dog behind him, before taking in Laurel’s nose **_“… nice nose, Rudolph”._**

 ** _“Thanks”_** Laurel let out a small smirk, as she moved to gently pet the dog, the huge beauty happily accepting her caresses and even trying to lick her hand.

 ** _“Oh no, don’t worry, Duke”_** replied Tim ** _“… just blackmailing some shitty businessman”._**

 _“I thought we did that on Mondays?”_ Duke’s mouth opened in a mouth that became quite contagious to Laurel.

She honestly liked him better than the other two idiots in the room.

 ** _“… why did you take Titus out?”_** asked Dick, as he moved to Laurel’s height to also pet the dog **_“… I thought Damian did it”._**

 _ **“Brat is over at Jon’s house”**_ explained Duke _**“… that’s why Tim is here and not at his office or at the Teen Titans’ or Young Justice’s tower”.**_

 _“… honestly… I am a bit suicidal, but not that much to stay at home at the same time of Damian”_ and then he turned to Laurel _“… except when Laurel is there, because he wouldn’t kill me in front of her, for somebody who has been trained by assassins he is quite well-mannered”._

 ** _“I love how I am being used as a shield in your brotherly banter”_** Laurel’s joke went unnoticed, but a small beeping sound adverted them that Al had answered their message and his arrogance was going to be completely destroyed once he saw all the stuff they had against him.

 _ **“So, now that the blackmail is done…”**_ muttered Tim, turning to the people on his room’s threshold “ ** _… and we all collectively agree not to let Bruce know about this… dinner?”._**

Duke’s stomach answered for him.

 _“We have to go back to Babs’ house”_ explained Dick.

 _ **“I thought you had been banned from it, the last time you broke up”**_ asked confusedly Duke, shooting a confused look to Laurel who simply shrugged her shoulders.

_**“… we are ok…”.** _

_**“Are we having a party in Tim’s room?”**_ asked lightly a voice from behind them and Laurel was so glad to see Judith appear in her elegant work clothes and with tired eyes that definitely spoke of having had a tiring day, although she smiled brightly at them.

And it didn’t pass unnoticed to Laurel the fact that Dick looked definitely brighter.

 _“Judith, you are obviously invited, if you sing for us!”_ suggested Dick, making the girl blush, as Laurel wiggled her eyebrow at her.

 _ **“… then I’ll have a party in my own room”**_ she replied, moving to Laurel’s side **_“… want to join to explain why you have a clown nose?”._**

 _“Already booked for a scrabble game with Dick”_ she replied apologetically _ **“… gotta make Dickie over there, cry”.**_

Dick tried to exclaim, obviously, annoyed at their antics.

 ** _“… please do”_** muttered Judith but shot her a quick look as if to say: ‘but are you okay?’ and Laurel lightly shook her head to say: ‘I could have been better’ **_“… Duke, my dear friend, come to get me for dinner, please, or I’ll be found drowned in my bathtub, since I am so tired”._**

And like that, she was off.

And Laurel saw the way Dick followed her silhouette, just to be startled by Laurel lightly elbowing him.

 _“I can put a good word”_ she muttered lightly.

_“… you better, after my fitness video for your sister”._

Their conversation was overshadowed by Titus’ loud barks.

And eventually Duke retired to get the dog to settled down, meanwhile Tim turned to his computer, focusing on a new project.

 _ **“… Tim”**_ Laurel called out lightly _**“… can I ask you one more favor?”.**_

 ** _“Ask and you shall receive”_** Tim’s eyes were completely focused on the screen.

Laurel was halfway through braiding Babs’ hair in the umpteenth braid, complaining about how much she wished that she could have similar hair, after **Dick had ditched them both for ‘patrol’** , when her phone started beeping loudly, effectively startling her.

The caller was one of the burner phone Jason used during this mission.

She smiled shyly to Babs, who smirked and just shushed a bit, as Laurel moved to the small hallway for more privacy.

_‘… hey baby’._

Fuck, he had just woken up.

_**‘… Patrick Swayze is that you?”.** _

**_“I can be whoever you want me to be Laurel”_** he added, immediately and fuck if Laurel loved and hated his flirting techniques.

~~‘You can be whoever you want to be, but you can’t be my boyfriend’.~~

_“… then be a bit less cliché-y”._

_“Will do”_ he replied, and Laurel felt like he was getting ready to reply something, so she should have expected a low blow _ **“… how is your nose by the way?”.**_

 _“Who betrayed me?”_ she simply asked.

She had a few ideas.

**“… Babs”.**

She shot the redhead still sprawled out on the sofa an annoyed glare, just for the woman to shoot her an apologetical one, although she didn’t seem to be regretting her actions in the slightest.

_**“It isn’t that bad”.** _

_**“Laurel”** _ ~~‘don’t bullshit me, Laurel’.~~

_**“It isn’t even broken!”.** _

_**“I told you one thing…”**_ his tone was definitely annoyed but Laurel had a whole day of annoyance on her own shoulder.

**_“You also told me that we could talk and then went on the other side of the freaking globe!”._ **

The thing was finally out and open.

She was tired of running around it.

**_“… you know… I am stuck here, thinking about… the fact that you might be hurt, or worse… and alongside that… I just…”._ **

Her words seemed definitely stuck in her throat.

And the fact that the other line had gone dead didn’t seem to be working in her favor.

She thought for a moment that Jason had put his phone down.

She wouldn’t have exactly hated him for that.

 _“… I am sorry, Laurel”_ fuck, she hadn’t meant to make him sad.

 _ **“You have nothing to be sorry”**_ she was now the one who felt damnably sad _**“… I might have… misspoken… I am sorry”.**_

 _“… I wouldn’t want you to hold yourself back with him, Laurel”_ now his voice was lined with a bit of teasing _“… I like when you are sassy…”._

**_“Why do you have to be flirty with me, when I am angry with you?”._ **

**_“Because I find you sexy when you are angry”_** well wasn’t that a confidence booster _“… but I am… dancing around the subject and for that I am sorry, I never intended for this to go this way, honestly… I just wanted to take you on a vacation and confess my feelings to you there…”._

**His feelings.**

~~Oh shit.~~

**_“… that isn’t definitely the way I wanted to confess my crush on you”._ **

_“… Jason… not to be like… a bitch, but when has anything gone… the way we wanted?”_ Laurel didn’t honestly want to put the fault on him, fully.

In the end, one of the main things that broke her was her own insecurities.

 _ **“… never”**_ he replied, with a light chuckle _**“… but I haven’t made it easy either”.**_

 _ **“You at least tried to be my boyfriend…”**_ replied lightly Laurel _“… fake boyfriend but…”._

_**“… yeah, best time of my life”.** _

**_“That’s why I… I found it difficult, Jason”_ **she replied lightly _“… I get… I don’t know if you are serious or not… and like I mean… I do understand that you aren’t doing this on purpose… that this is your own language, but… I want to understand it… and each time I get close to do it… you push me away. And this make me question whether maybe I just… misunderstood it all”._

That was scary.

Fuck, she should have taken the painkillers she had been given.

**_“… I am scared that when you’ll come home, everything we have will… be gone”._ **

_“You have so little faith in me, Laurel” h_ e sounded offended and she hadn’t meant it that way.

_“… it isn’t… onto you Jason”_ ~~‘I am just an individual with insecurities and no parental figure’~~ _“… I am just… it isn’t your job to give me any confirmations, but I would just… want it to be easy for once”._

_**“That’s why… it’s difficult for me to… feel like I deserve you”.** _

**Well, that was news.**

“… Jason…”.

“You could get someone with whom it is easier…”.

 _ **“… Jason”**_ this got him to effectively listening to her “ ** _… I feel sorry for having implied such a thing…”._**

 _“Laurel I am not worth rambling over”_ his tone was dark but lightly chuckling “… sweetheart, you don’t have to feel guilty for me, you don’t owe me anything”.

 _“… I own men in general nothing”_ Laurel also made light of it _“… but I didn’t… you aren’t a weight, I just… wish I could do more for you… that I could be better and I know that I am not making my stance better, but in my defense… I have anxiety and…”._

_“You are so fucking precious, ‘Rel”._

Barbara was probably hearing all of this and spying Laurel’s red cheeks at that comment.

**_“… and you are the only person that I want to open myself with… I want to… and I am sorry I am not easy… but I want to work with you towards it, that’s something that I swear I want to do when I come back to you”._ **

**~~Not to Gotham.~~ **

**~~Not to Batman.~~ **

**To her.**

_“… that’s enough for me”_ Laurel bit her lips, slipping into the guest room, because she was close to tears, choked voice and everything.

_**“You certainly are the easy one in the relationship, ‘Rel”.** _

_**“… I am changing locks”.** _

_**“Nooo, baby”.** _

Okay, her heart was fluttering with happiness.

_“… I miss you… and it makes me scared and anxious, but fuck you are worth it, Jason Todd”._

_**“Well, I do know that I’ll make it worth it for sure”.** _

_**“I am Jim’s house, keep the innuendos to a minimum”.** _

She knew that the fact that they were both going back to the sarcasm was a sign that the emotional confessions were done for the day and for once, Laurel strangely felt confident that this would go.

_**“… who by the way told me that I should drop your ass”.** _

**_“I don’t believe you!”_** he protested, and she felt him, pushing himself down onto something that creaked loudly _**“… he loves me, already as a son!”.**_

_“… please stop collecting others’ daddies to solve your daddy issues”._

_“Then stop collecting members of my family, then!”._

They both erupted in laughter.

And then their conversation moved onto their respective days, and although Jason found it difficult to admit that he was proud of Laurel for fighting Gotham’s corrupt system, she could feel that he definitely was a bit amazed by what she had done.

**_‘… didn’t think that you got that meanness in you, ‘Rel’._ **

**_‘I called you Bucket for the first three months we spent together’_** she shot back, annoyed ‘… and I’ll go back to it, when you come back’.

They were halfway through having a small fight over what was the best insult, when Barbara knocked lightly on the door, left half-open (shit) wishing Laurel ‘goodnight’, as she was going to bed, being a bit tired.

**_'Tell the dumbass on the other line “goodnight” also from my part’._ **

_‘Tell Barbie, I heard her’_ snickered Jason on the other line, as Laurel retorted _‘that she wasn’t his secretary’._

**_‘Pay me bitch, you have the money’._ **

Their laughs entered the air, but Laurel lowered lightly her voice and closed the door to avoid disturbing Babs.

**_“… I actually have a confession that is prompted by the incoming of night…”._ **

**_“It’s barely sunrise in here!”._ **

**_“Leave me alone, Bucket!”._ **

**_“Alright, alright, baby”._ **

Well, that was her heart fluttering lightly.

_**“… I might have… accidentally ended up in your old room at the manor” that sounded worse than in her mind “… it was an accident… I swear…!”.** _

Laurel wondered whether Jason had completely lost or was laughing at her embarrassment, when he answered with a light chuckle.

**A boyish chuckle.**

**_“… please don’t tell me that you lost your way in the Manor”_** at Laurel’s silence that obviously was a positive answer, he added ** _“… I am just imagining you as a gothic heroine, going around the Manor with a candle_** …”.

**_“Aren’t you angry at me?”._ **

Laurel would have hated the thought of somebody entering her room, without her knowing.

Mostly because the whole thing was terribly messy, and Jason already thought she was a brat.

 ** _“… sweetheart… the whole thing is open because I left it”_** well, his whole tone made her feel stupid _“… Bruce asked me, when he mounted the new security system, if I wanted to keep it closed the whole time… if I am not wrong the whole thing has a system that makes it close at a certain hour…”._

**_“Yeah, I can confirm…”._ **

**_“’Rel… please don’t tell me that you got locked inside!”._ **

_**“I just wanted a glass of water!”.** _

_“Either way… I… don’t feel bad… for you… entering my room_ ” his tone seemed sincere ** _“… the Jason that inhabited that place is the second Robin who died, not me”._**

Laurel hadn’t expected such an answer.

It always shocked her the way Jason spoke of himself and his death.

It was something that she never had gone through and neither would have (she doubted anybody would throw her in the Lazarus’ Pit) and she never tried to imply so when Jason was talking about it.

Which happened rarely.

Although he made plenty of death jokes, talking about it entailed a vulnerability that he didn’t want to show.

 ** _“… that room isn’t me, anymore”_** he added _ **“… it’s Bruce’s mausoleum of the child he lost. I am actually sorry that you had to see that, it’s pretty annoying stuff and the weird pornos were actually Dick’s…”.**_

_**“Weird pornos?”.** _

_“… thank God, you didn’t find that”._

_**“Jason”**_ her comment was stern _**“… still I am sorry”.**_

 _ **“You know that you are the sole person that I know who truly means it when you apologize”**_ he mumbled, and she felt him adjusting on the bed _**“… although you apologize too much for my own interest, sweetheart, nothing happened, nobody is wounded or permanently scared since you haven’t found my old porn stash”.**_

_“… stop making me curious”._

_**“The only thing… that I am sorry for is that… you didn’t get to meet the person who inhabited that room…”**_ his mutter was now definitely less sarcastic, almost as if he truly regretted that _ **“… he was… not perfect, but he was better than the person that raised from the Pit”.**_

 _“I wouldn’t be sure”_ Laurel wouldn’t have lied and neither hesitated about this.

_“… I don’t want pity, Laurel”._

_**“And you won’t have it”**_ he startled at the swiftness of her answer **_“… but also don’t undermine my words, because I mean them and when I tell you that you are to me the best version of yourself, knows that I mean it truly and from the bottom of my heart”._**

 _“Never took you for a poet, Laurel_ ” his tone was genuine, and a bit choked.

That explained his need to cover it all up with sarcasm.

 ** _“… fourteen-year-old Laurel wrote poetry and did ballroom dancing, I am glad I outgrew that phase”_** she replied, letting him back off from the subject.

 _ **“… are you sure about that?”**_ he replied, and Laurel could almost picture his tongue loosely peaking from between his lips to make a small appearance due to his unfaltering focus **_“… I did catch you dancing, on a few mornings”._**

 _ **“… stalker”**_ she bumped in, before feeling a bit daring _“… but… I also think that that Jason you think you lost… isn’t completely gone, I mean… you are still kind of an idiot, although you don’t wear a speedo anymore”._

She wanted him to know that there was no need to like… be better or think that he could be better… with her.

 _ **“… couldn’t fit in it anymore”**_ his innuendo was a bad cover-up for his choked up voice and Laurel was startled for a bit, before he added “ _ **… you are truly… precious Laurel, not fragile or delicate, but precious and that’s why I want to protect you from everything”.**_

**_“I understand that, but… I won’t shatter so easily”._ **

**_“Tell that to your broken nose”._ **

**_“Swollen!”_** she replied loudly, almost yelping, before putting a hand on her mouth reminding herself that Barbara was sleeping beside her _“… I am not a damsel in distress”._

**“You are the distress”.**

_“I don’t like your tone, young man”_ she mocked him, grateful that their humor wasn’t heavied by months of missed conversations anymore, before letting out a light yawn.

 _ **“… better let you sleep, distress”**_ he replied at that ** _“… thank you for the enlightening conversation… and goodnight”._**

**_“… goodnight, Bucket”._ **

**_“That’s our thing, isn’t it?”._ **

**_“Indeed”._ **

**_“Fuck, you look better”_** muttered Babs as she passed Laurel a mug and directing her towards the coffee machine, as Laurel caught a glimpse of her in the coffee machine, just to find out that her nose was even more swollen than yesterday.

And she had dark circles underneath her eyes.

**But she was smiling.**

_**“… the bed in the guest room is amazing”.** _

“And the conversation must be too” shot back the redhead, as Laurel settled onto asking for hot water for tea.

 _“Was it too loud?”_ ~~‘fuck, please make sure that Babs didn’t hear me and Jason confessing our idiotic feelings’~~ _“… sorry, if it was…”._

 _ **“Didn’t hear anything”**_ Babs’ smirk definitely showed that she had heard something, but she didn’t push Laurel to talk for which she was thankful, since she felt like she wanted to keep that happiness private for a bit more _“… also, dad said that you should take the day off…”._

 ** _“Your dad needs to know that I kind of… need to work to make money”_** shot back Laurel, once she dipped her teabag in the hot water, smelling herself discreetly and declaring she needed a shower since her smell was a mix between sweat and hospital stuff.

She hadn’t slept for the whole night to try to see if the brain concussion was real or not.

And although she felt horridly, she still wanted to go at least back to her house and then back to the station.

 ** _“Knowing that you wouldn’t have agreed… he said to at least take the morning off”_** suggested Babs _“… Dick should be here in a few minutes…”._

**And as if called, the vigilante appeared in his suit from the window of the kitchen.**

**Laurel risked almost sputtering out her tea.**

**_“… well, the show-off is here”_** uttered annoyedly Babs, receiving almost a shoe in the face, meanwhile Dick undid his suit _“… he’ll drive you to your place, once he gets into civilian clothes…”._

_“… which might take me quite a bit, considering I am wearing spandex”._

**_“Take all you need, I am going to take the metro”_** Laurel muttered, not wanting to bother Dick after he had basically helped her with blackmailing her assaulter.

**_“… ‘Rel, if you bleed out, we’ll be in trouble”._ **

_“Jason won’t kill you, if anything happens to me”_ she replied, annoyedly, shooting a quick look to Babs as if to say: _‘am I right, am it not?’._

Just for the redhead not to meet Laurel’s eyes.

 ** _“… yeah, but like… you have a good influence on him, so I’d like to keep it that way”_** replied Dick as he shimmed out of his other shoe, before disappearing onto the bath, meanwhile Babs filled another mug with coffee _**“… so I’d like to keep it that way!”.**_

 ** _“… don’t use my concealer, Dick!”_** screamed Barbara, completely disregarding the exchange between Laurel and the boy _“… it doesn’t match your skin tone!”._

So, Laurel didn’t think that she would have managed to get out without Dick chaperoning her around.

It felt almost nice.

So, she was in Dick’s service car (no, she couldn’t turn the siren on) in a matter of minute, after she had profusely thanked Babs for her hospitality, getting a big hug from the redhead, who had followed it with a light side-eye glance to Dick, as if to say ‘go in peace, idiot’.

And when the conversation turned to Judith, Laurel wasn’t even surprised.

 _ **“Got your video”**_ Dick muttered lightly _“… do put a good word with your best friend”._

 _“Haven’t you tried asking Damian?”_ not because she wouldn’t have sung Dick’s praise to Judith, but she would have bet that the girl would have immediately seen through her act.

_“… Damian… Damian, the boy who can’t be bribed”._

And Laurel who had tried to bribe him into telling him Alfred’s cookie recipe, knew that.

 ** _“… ok, you are right”_** she replied.

 _“… and do you…”_ for somebody who was the smoothest of the batbunch, he certainly could be awkward ** _“… happen to know… you know…?”._**

 ** _“What?”_** Laurel had no true idea.

_“Ahem… obviously… if Judith… if she…”._

_**“If she has a crush on you?”**_ that got Dick to flush red, and hadn’t she been worried to distract him she would have snapped a photo for Jason _ **“… I am not allowed to legally share this kind of information with you, Grayson”.**_

 _“Don’t use the lawyer talk with me”_ replied lightly annoyedly Dick _“… I am just saying…”._

 **“And I am telling you to open your eyes”** simply shot back Laurel “ _ **… also because she is my best friend so if I betray her, I would disrupt the besties code… you understand that, right?”.**_

 _ **“Betrayer”**_ was Dick’s simple mumble.

_“… better betrayer to a man than to your bestie”._

_“On that I agree”_ he replied, turning to you as you were met at a red ligh _t “… by the way, you and Jason…”._

 _ **“Mind your business”**_ she replied immediately, now being the red one _“… but we are alright… kind of…”._

_“… Laurel and Jason sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G…”._

_**“I’d like to say something but Damian would actually miss me if we got in an incident”.** _

She had indeed taken the morning off, showering and adjusting a few things at home, since she obviously needed again to go grocery shopping for the rest of the week, after work, so with the list she had gone back to work.

She had expected the surprise.

But not the fact that everyone was looking at her with… almost fear in her eyes.

Except Pearl.

 _“Not to be like… insensitive…”_ she muttered as she came to Laurel’s side _**“… but if you wanted to redo your nose, you should have just gone for it, instead of asking somebody to break it”.**_

 _ **“Thank God, I like my legs”**_ replied simply Laurel, trying to ignore the attention that everyone was giving her.

 _“… by the way, the dude…”_ her friend added, leaning lightly onto her desk to whisper in her ear _“… gave a statement and turned himself in, definitely strange, don’t you think”._

 _ **“I guess”**_ replied quickly Laurel, trying to appear disinterested.

 _ **“… Lau?”**_ called out to her Pearl and for a moment she was worried that the girl might have understood that she had done something for her to be suspicious of the course of actions ** _“… what happened? Because you are strangely calm and you walked in smiling so…”._**

**_“Nothing”._ **

**_“With nothing you mean… Jensen… right?”._ **

**_“Why does a man have to be involved to make me happy?”_** she wouldn’t have ever admitted that it was indeed ‘Jensen’s’.

She wasn’t ashamed.

But why everyone seemed so concerned about her business?

Maybe she was just overreacting because all her childhood had been a big flash after the other.

So, now she wanted to simply be private about what mattered to her.

And also… insecure about it as she was, she preferred not to admit to anything till she completely gained it.

“… whatever it is… do make it last, I don’t remember when you last smiled so brightly, since Jensen took off” and with a kiss to her friend’s cheek the police officer was off, called by Jim, who shot Laurel a ‘not disappointed and not surprised’ fatherly look.

But what surprised Laurel was when Mrs. Herpel appeared on the station threshold, with Caleb in one hand and Innie in her arms, immediately moving towards Laurel with a speed in her feet that made her think that she must have done something wrong.

And when they were face to face, Laurel tried for an awkward smile, reassured by the fact that although both the children were bashful, they were grinning happily.

**“I don’t know how you did it…”**

**~~Fuck, fuck, fuck.~~ **

~~She would have taken the fall if it came to it.~~

~~No need to involve Tim or Jim or Babs…~~

**_“… but thank you. Mr. Tim Wayne just called me and would like to give me my job back and…”_** and before Laurel could properly realize what was going on, the woman leaned fully onto Laurel **_“… you are a blessing my girl”._**


	3. So Please Come Back...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forced to be without the people she loves the most for Christmas, Laurel might discover that for once she actually has more friends and allies than she had originally thought.

_“Looking sweet but boy_

_I_ _know you sneaky_

_With trophies in your backseat_

_All the girls that came before were easy_

_Before you met me”_

[ **‘Killer’ by Valerie Broussard** ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgffP-P21tIU&t=NTY2NmQxNGY1NmZiYzFjNzBiZjA1MTFmOTM2ZjI3NTZhYjkxOWY2MixkNmI5ZjIxOGI3ODE0Y2I0Njg4MzY2OWJlMzk5OGVhOTRjMzVmYjEx&ts=1611998184)

Laurel had started thinking that somehow Jason had installed a sensor in their apartment to know whenever she was available to talk with him, because there was no way that he managed to catch the exact moment she exited the shower from her Sunday morning gym routine.

She trained a bit during the weekend, every week, and whenever she had a few minutes to spare, and although she wasn’t a gym freak like Jason, she certainly enjoyed the training since it helped relaxing her nerves and work anger out of her system.

She always tried to take it as a fun and relaxing activity and not the magical ‘burning calories’ activity that Laurel’s mother had forced in her mind since a young age.

Laurel still had a hard time separating the two things and realizing that she wasn’t forced to keep her weight constantly in check and maniacally exercise to diminish her fat mass, but she could still simply keep herself healthy in other ways, that didn’t destroy her and made her feel down whenever she wasn’t able to lose weight.

As if that somehow defined her more than all her good qualities.

She was still working on her self-esteem, but the fact that she wasn’t sweating her ass off that Sunday morning and definitely awarding herself with a delicious take-out order that night was a step forward towards discarding completely a lot of bad coping mechanisms and gaining more confidence, or so her therapist would have thought.

And so, did Jason.

“Do you have a sensor for when I want to talk with you?” Laurelmuttered lightly, as she pushed the phone on the closed toilette lid and put the phone on speaker, browsing through her make-up bag, which contained her skincare routine and the horrifying purple hairband she used to avoid her clean hair getting dirty, right after showering “… just exited the shower”.

“Ohh…” it was a boyish whisper that got Laurel to almost slap the wall in front of her, imagining Jason was right beside her “… all wet, still, ‘Rel?”.

“Keep your mind out of the gutter!” she replied, instead, adjusting the hairband and then moving to put in order the various products on the lid of the sink, then she started the first step of the routine and lathing an abundant dose on her fingers “… is everything alright, wherever you are?”.

“Quite alright” he muttered, his somber tone definitely explaining that he didn’t want to discuss about it, which reinforced Laurel’s belief that he had probably called her to be distracted.

And Laurel would do so, happily.

“… is your nose healing?” he added, right as Laurel gently dabbed a bit of the cream onto her darkening nose, definitely less swollen and painful, but still delicate and of a color that didn’t seem healthy.

At the small supermarket nearby her apartment, she had gotten a few good stares for that and Mrs. Nesbitt, their noisy neighbor had asked her ‘what in the Lord’s name had happened to her pretty nose?’.

‘… just had to be a hero’ Laurel had replied shoving a whole bag of peas in her cart, before speeding away, hoping the noisy woman would understand that she didn’t want to be bothered.

Laurel was sure that by now she considered her a dangerous criminal.

“Yep” Laurel muttered, once she came up from washing off the cleansing cream, rubbing attentively her cheeks where she used to be more dehydrated “… still not the best sight, on my pretty face, but it should be healed for Christmas”.

Which she was extremely glad for, considering that she was supposed to be hosting a charity event at the station a few days before the fateful day with a few other police officers for children in foster care, who would get special gifts from Santa Claus and Miss Claus.

‘Please don’t get into anything deadly’ had muttered commissioner Gordon once he had allowed the whole thing, sending her a meaningful look, as Laurel promised to be in her best behavior, which earned her ‘… your best behavior got you a bloody nose and a head concussion, so just be normal, Cellini’.

Easier said than done.

“… good” that was more a cute breath than a true comment and Laurel gently leaned against the mirror, meanwhile she brushed the scrub lotion, being careful of the zones underneath her eyes “… you have the Miss Claus, get up, right?”.

“Oh, what a sweetie you are, Jason, for remembering” Laurel’s voice had changed in a heartbeat, imitating the one she thought Mrs. Claus would make, identifying her as a Southern granny with a gentle soul and a sugary smile.

As she had previously told Dick, Laurel had always been amazing at doing impressions, which she thought was something that she probably got from her mother, considering she was an actress and had pushed both her children through various acting courses and meanwhile Laurel had sunk, Victoria had enjoyed thoroughly her time during those courses, eventually thinking of pursuing it as a career.

That reminded her that she definitely needed to give her a call soon.

Or just send her the peace offer, Nightwing’s video of the vigilante saying ‘hi’ to her.

Having a whole family of vigilantes wrapped around her finger, definitely came in handy.

She just hoped that Victoria hadn’t blocked her.

Technically Victoria hadn’t blocked her on any social media platform, but for all the time they had been apart, Laurel had avoided lurking, feeling like a stalker, and just taking in the few news she got on the newspapers and tabloids which showed a smiling Victoria.

She seemed to have done it, to have succeeded.

So, why would she be thinking about her douchebag of a sister?

Jason’s breath hitched on the other line, making her laugh and push herself away from all those horrible thoughts:

“Turned on by an old lady wearing red knickers?” well, she was allowed to have her mind in the gutter, considering that her period would pay her a visit the following week “… didn’t know that you had that kink, babe”.

“I would be turned on by you wearing anything, sweetheart”.

Ok, she couldn’t win this flirting game.

Even more when the phone just made his voice seemed that raspy.

“… but especially by you wearing my color, red…”

“Since when is red your color?” it was all horridly choked up in a way that probably sounded quite poorly convincing and in fact Jason laughed off at her protest, meanwhile Laurel steadied her hand to grab the serum in the little glass water “… I didn’t think that you had copyrighted it… even more, considering that there is a superhero named Red Robin…”.

“Do you have to talk about replacement, meanwhile you are wet, and I am trying to spark up some phone sex?”.

Well, hadn’t Laurel set up that amazingly fluffy carpet, her serum would be shattered on the ground and she thanked the Heaven for the extra five dollars for the extra push.

“Jason!” she reprimanded him, meanwhile she little product on her face, definitely burned less than her cheeks in that moment “… I am not… that easy… mister”.

She heard a light chuckle and then a light movement of water being opened, which made her aware that he was in the bathroom, like her probably to separate himself from the Outlaws.

Yeah, he was on a mission with the Outlaws.

With Roy Harper, which she knew from the tabloids, although according to Jason ‘he was a lot crazier’ and an alien princess who was the epitome of ‘looks like a model and could kill you’.

Laurel didn’t know whether she was more jealous of her or of Jason for spending time with her.

She hadn’t met Kori, although she had heard of her, considering that she was one of the highest-paid models in the industry, and Victoria had fangirled a lot about her once she had discovered that they would do a photoshoot together, which had been cancelled sadly by the alien princess having to wander off to save the world.

Could she get any more perfect?

Laurel doubted it.

And it made Laurel doubt about why Jason would be interested in having phone sex with her, a normal civilian with a pendant for a reckless behavior and thighs the size of two watermelon.

Even more, when he could have real physical sex with an alien princess.

She knew that it had happened before.

Part of her knew that Jason wouldn’t have cheated on her, considering all that he had confessed to her and how loyal and faithful he was to the ones that he loved and another part of her knew that it wasn’t Jason that she doubted.

It was herself.

Was she worth ditching an alien princess?

Definitely no.

“… was that too much?” Jason’s voice startled her from her self-deprecating moment, meanwhile her hands mechanically applied the eye-contour cream, paying extreme attention to not getting the shit in her eyes, since she fucking knew it fucking burned.

“Ahem, no…” well, she would have taken the whole offer up, hadn’t she been reminded what her body looked like, as her bathrobe slipped, lightly off her shoulders, and fuck if she hated the stretchmarks on her boobs.

It wasn’t her fault that she had grown boobs overnight.

Judith, who was ‘as flat as a table’ (her words not Laurel’s), had just commented about how lucky Laurel was to have that chest, just for the girl to immediately mutter back ‘do you want to trade? I would love nothing more than to ditch them by day and then get them back when I need to warm my hands and the comforting squeeze to know that they are still there’.

Her newest best friend had just laughed it all up.

Laurel had actually an appointment to go Christmas shopping with Judith, in the afternoon, since she had said quite quickly that it was either Laurel showing her what she could get a normal ten-year-old or she would get Damian a traditional knife, for Christmas.

And Laurel had heard enough scary stories about Damian with a knife from Tim, who would do a pit stop at her house, during his patrol night for hot cocoa or orange juice, since she always made sure that all the Robins were properly hydrated, to know it was a terrible idea.

So, they were going to the mall, before the Christmas shopping fever started acting up, and Laurel actually needed to pick up a few things for the small event at the police station, hoping not to attract too many stared considering her broken nose.

Which was the main reason why Judith was coming along.

She had a very mean glare.

“… I just…” why should she hide it “… it is just my insecurities acting up, because you are hitting on me and not on the alien princess you have back there, who is very much the definition of perfection, please tell me that she, at least, smells badly… because I can’t honestly… feel a once of misogyny… and I was raised onto ‘Better Than Revenge’!”.

“The Taylor Swift song?” shot back Jason, indulging in her silly humor.

“No, the Christmas Carol” Laurel replied, and when she heard Jason’s hum of acknowledgement added “… yeah the fucking Taylor Swift song, Jason! We are having a ‘Reputation Tour’ rewatch once you get back and yes, I’ll tie you to the chair”.

“… kinky, babe” again, period horny “… but I get your mind process and let me tell you… if I get tied, you’ll get a spanking for thinking negatively of yourself, when I come back”.

“Jason, you are a softie, the most you’ll do is grope my ass” Laurel wasn’t honestly half afraid “… yeah, I have seen you looking at it”.

“Because it is up there with the ‘Mona Lisa’ and the ‘Pietà’ and other fucking art masterpieces” well, that was a confidence boost and also pretty pretty sexy with the way Jason showed his artistic knowledge “… but on serious business, if you have caught me looking at your ass, then you should know why… I am not having sex with an alien princess”.

“… can’t believe my ass just beated the one of an alien princess” Laurel muttered lightly, as she gently slapped her face to make the serum be absorbed by her skin “… I wouldn’t choose yours over Kori’s, sorry…”.

“Little traitor” he shot back “… but I can’t blame you… I mean I like your ass better, but I know your taste in women and it is absolutely ‘women that can walk over me in heels’, which Kori can do, and… fuck she is so so fucking tall in heels! It makes me seem a smurf!”.

“Oh, that’s too bad!” she was obviously sarcastic, considering that she felt like a smurf whenever she was next to him, since she was at least a foot smaller than him “… but yeah, you are right, I do have a type that Kori perfectly matches”.

A little hum was the sole answer from Jason and now a bit calmed down and able to focus on anything that wasn’t her insecurities, she could focus on him and knew that although he wasn’t insecure about her sexuality, definitely not believing the hypersexualized image that media painted for bisexuals, he was insecure of anybody that he thought was better than him.

And considering his self-esteem which was as low as Laurel’s height, it was almost everyone, according to him.

Women more than men, Laurel had noticed.

She thought it came with the fact that he trusted women more than men (which was a mood, in part), but also Jason had had the beautiful experience of basically teaming up with some of the most badass women on the planet.

Laurel.exe had just stopped working when he had told her about his ‘multiverse’ adventure with Donna Troy, her girlhood crush.

“… and my taste in men is vigilante with the prettiest ass in the whole city of Gotham…”.

“Good, I knew that you’d end up falling in love with Dick!” his tone was definitely much more bitter than sarcastic.

“… and a fucking tendence to be reckless and adorably nerdish… and yeah, I am talking about you Jason Todd, love of my life and fire of my loins” she could almost picture the way his shoulder eased as he breathed out happily “… and yeah I quoted Nabokov to show you I am the graduated lit-major”.

“It’s a piece of paper, Laurel!” he shot back, but the laughter that followed wasn’t in the slightest annoyed.

“Yeah, and I lost years of sanities for that piece of paper!” she muttered, meanwhile she went to apply her hydrating cream “… and it’s two pieces of paper, because momma raised no quitter, but an overachiever with anxiety and perfectionist tendencies”.

“Laurel, please stop with the sugar” that was definitely a nicer tone “… your ass has already fallen on a pile of sugar, because… baby it’s so sweet”.

“… please stop… Jason Todd…” she maneuvered the phone to push it onto the sink, after assuring herself that it wasn’t completely wet, since she had already lost a phone to a watery sink, meanwhile she collected all the skincare products and pushed them back, in their bag and fot the headband onto the radiators to dry it “… my ass doesn’t deserve this kind of disrespect”.

“Perfect, let’s talk about your legs”.

She might have closed the phone, hadn’t she felt a bit more confident with each of the words he said.

“… wrapped around my waist they would look very cute” ‘thank you for the mental image, I know what I’ll think about tonight’ “… or you know… the thighs highs you wear around the house… the woolen ones that make you seem like a sexy grandma”.

“We have to have a talk about dirty talk when you are a few countries away” then a horrifying thought passed her mind “… Batman doesn’t… Batman can’t hear us… right…?”.

‘I told him that I hadn’t attempted to your virtue, but shit if he hears this, I am getting for ever and ever banned from the whole universe’.

“… babe, no of course… “ Jason muttered, as if it was obvious and she let out a light chuckle “… I mean… I don’t think… I never really…”.

“Batman is going to kill me” she almost shouted “… and I won’t even get to see the downfall of Helmutt Marko”.

“That does seem a supervillain name” replied Jason “… and don’t worry, I was joking about the old man being able to hear us, I did check that out, since he has a tendency to stalk everyone in the family”.

“And me who thought that my mom was crazy for getting me and my sister a bodyguard…” she shot back, deciding to avoid talking about it, since the way Jason grew tense as he spoke about Bruce made Laurel wary to dig more.

Even more when Jason was flirting his way up to her panties.

“… oh, by the way, very random, but I am thinking about catching up with my family” Jason’s hum wasn’t promising and Laurel couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed, since she had thought that he would be more encouraging.

Still, she hadn’t been kind when talking about her family with him.

“… yeah… I thought about talking with… Willis, at least” yeah, that was a Christmas tradition, and she hadn’t such a bad opinion of her bodyguard, considering that he had always stood by her side, even when his contract with the Cellini family had ended, searching the girl and visiting her graduation when her mother and sister couldn’t “… and Victoria”.

“If you think, it’ll solve things” his tone was cold, and Laurel tried not to blame him and neither think too harshly of him.

She knew that most of his convictions were based onto his own experiences.

And most of them were horrifyingly violent.

Even a few ones with his family.

Laurel might have told Bruce to talk with Jason, but she wouldn’t have hesitated in defending Jason against him, if they were put one against each other by their different targets and ‘work ethics’.

And at the same time, she wished that Jason could see that Bruce wasn’t his enemy.

That Bruce wanted to be his father again.

But she knew that Bruce had as much fault in Jason’s wrong conviction of not being ‘fully’ part of the family.

And of being unworthy of being his son.

And it was mostly due to Bruce not being able to properly convey his emotions.

But it was better than having a mother like Cristiana Cellini, who was an icicle.

“… sorry if I am not… excited…” Jason muttered, probably having noticed the silence that had fallen between them, meanwhile Laurel moved to her room, throwing her phone on her unmade bed and closing the windows, which she had opened to change the air in the room “… I just… am worried… because, fuck if you are sweet, Laurel”.

“I thought it was only my ass” she had to sass up the choked mutter that left his mouth “… but don’t worry, I am not… I… my expectations are not all that high, I just… want to talk with Victoria and… clarify things, even if it means that we won’t see each other again”.

“… don’t worry, I’ll console you in that case” Laurel’s snicker got a loud protest from the man on the other line“… hey, I’ll have you know that I can make an amazing lasagna”.

“Yeah, I am… Italian, Jason, my governess actually came from Sicily, doubt that you’ll be able to beat her lasagna…” she shut back, glad to have a distraction from the awkwardness of both their families “… and I could think of other ways, you could distract me”.

“So, that phone sex offer isn’t compl…” Laurel dropped her bathrobe on the ground uncaring of anything but the voice on the other line, which was interrupted by another male voice:

“Jason… fucktard! Fucking move on with your daily jerk-off thing!”.

Well, wasn’t it nice meeting your boyfriend’s best friend this way?

“Roy, I swear to fucking God…!” whatever he added was lost to Laurel’s soft laughter “… he is the fucktard”.

“… men and their ‘who’s got it bigger?’” she added lightly, as she gently got up to get the bathrobe from the floor, throwing also that on her bed “… just to help you with your ‘daily jerk-off thing’, I am naked right now”.

“Babe, you can’t play this game…” another loud knock and a shout of profanities “… I can’t face Roy with a hard-on”.

“Then make it go away” she replied lightly, as if it wasn’t her problem “… and yeah, I do think I’ll wear those woolen thigh highs to channel better my inner sexy grandma”.

“Vixen” he muttered, but eventually gave up “… I’ll call you later, after I have strangled Roy and you have put on the thigh highs… only”.

“Your wish is my command” and before she could hear whatever protesting reply Jason had on his lips she closed the phone call, realizing that she might need another shower.

A cold one.

* * *

“What do you think of this?” muttered Judith holding out what looked like an enormous confection of ‘more than one hundred crayons’, wrapped in some black and white drawings, probably made to be colored by the child who got that gift.

And honestly Laurel would have loved to receive something like that.

But Damian would have probably taken a look at the ‘child’ word on the front of the crayons box and thrown if off the window.

Then went back and got it, because they seemed nice crayons.

“… not for Damian” Laurel simply muttered, meanwhile she looked at the child toy section, surprised by all the cool things that had been added since the last time she had last visited such an aisle, amazed by how dangerous so many toys had become.

Was it some kind of Darwinism trial?

You don’t choke on the slime and you are allowed to be a functional adult.

Still, she had smiled brightly at the Batman action figures.

She had gotten a Red Hood one for her desk at the police station.

He would seem almost looking over her, and she honestly just thought of chucking it to Giblinson every time he fell asleep on duty.

Jason would have loved that idea.

“… oh yeah, no no… we are getting a professional set for little midget” replied Judith, pushing the box in their cart, not waiting for Laurel’s reply, which wouldn’t have come soon, since she was definitely wondering who Judith might gift that to.

She didn’t think that anybody in the family might like such a present, aside from Damian.

“Oh, it’s for Dick…” oh well, now Laurel definitely was less confused and more in the mood for gossip “… he got me a job at the art gallery and… I read that stuff like this… is good for like anxiety and stress… and considering that I talk with him on a daily basis… that boy will be finishing this in like… a week, max…”.

“You talk on a daily basis?” well, it was good to know that she wasn’t the only one having a phonic relationship.

“… definitely should get more of these drawing sheets” Judith swiftly avoided the question “… don’t you think, Laurel?”.

“I think that you are trying to change subject” replied the girl, stopping her from backing away from the cart “… by the way, you are blushing”.

“I am a trained assassin, I don’t blush”.

The lady and child beside them who were choosing between which Robin action figure they should get, definitely shuddered at that.

Knowing what happened in Gotham, it wasn’t the most surprising thing they had probably heard.

“… c’mon, you can tell me that you have a crush on the cutest cop in Blundhaven” she shot back, lowering her voice as Judith went to indeed add more drawing sheets to their karts “… mind you how I said of Blundhaven and not Gotham, because we both know that that title belongs to me”.

Judith, at that, slung a lazy arm over her shoulder, making their shoulders bump, a small smile appearing on both their faces.

“… damn right!” muttered Judith, as she got ahold of the cart, making them sprint away from the toy section “… and yeah… I mean… we talk, but like… it isn’t… lovey-dopey”.

“Would you like it to be?” muttered lightly Laurel, as she shot a quick look at the various things stored at the end of the aisle, thinking about whether she had enough wrapping paper or she should get more.

“I don’t think… it is up to me…” Judith didn’t hide the truth, for long, as her hand indeed put an enormous stack of wrapping paper in the cart “… like we are just… whatever it is, it is nice and I do feel alright for once… not a weapon and not a couch potato”.

“That ass isn’t the ass of a couch potato” shot back Laurel, getting a light laugh from Judith “… and whatever it is, if it makes you happy, I am happy for you”.

“… if you and Jason don’t work out, I am courting you properly, Laurel Cellini”.

Well, what was it with everyone today?

Was it ‘compliment a Laurel’ day?

Somebody should have given her a warning, because she was definitely halfway through a mental breakdown.

“… you know… you could have a chance” she muttered, once she got over her intense blush “… I do like darkish figures with a soft heart… I mean… chocolate lava cake is my favorite cake so…”.

“About that… there is a coffee shop that serves it, I did check it out, before coming here, because let me tell you… I haven’t eaten one in so fucking long, with the League policy for zero chocolate in the house”.

Laurel’s face must have been positively horrified to make Judith blurt out an extremely loud laugh.

“… I can condone murder…” Judith definitely croaked an eyebrow at her, meanwhile the lady checking Christmas decoration near them definitely moved away as far as she could “… but I draw the line at chocolate free diets, like that isn’t healthy”.

“Laurel, I got dumped in the Jesus’ pool”.

“Did it taste like chocolate?”.

They both laughed loudly, reaching the technology aisle, since Tim’s present was next on their list, considering that they’d also have to get Jason’s and Damian’s gifts outside of the main area on the shop, which was strangely less busy than the shops, making their grocery trip quite easy.

Judith knew that Tim needed a new USB, because although he probably had a few interesting objects that were more useful than a USB pen, he used them to store all his illegally downloaded copies of whatever movie series he was obsessed at the moment.

Damian had broken the last one he owned, Star Wars themed, so Judith settled onto a Superman themed.

She had heard Kon’s name being uttered by a Tim more than his own.

Laurel checked the computers, since she had been thinking of buying a new one.

The one she owned was just a little faster than the one at the police station, which wasn’t a good thing in the slightest and it was uncomfortable to be brought anywhere, since it was quite big.

But money was scarce when you weren’t counting on your trust-fund.

Although Cristiana Cellini might be a horrible mother, she had given both her daughters a monthly allowance, since they were ten which had allowed Laurel to meet up with a therapist without her or the press knowing when she was barely fifteen and had allowed her to buy Jason’s present.

But that was it.

The money stayed in whatever fiscal paradise her mother had put them.

The only reason why she hadn’t given them to some charities was because she was worried of Victoria ever needing them.

After Tim’s present, Laurel and Judith exited the mall, effectively entering Sephora, where Laurel collected a few things for herself, mostly skincare.

Just for Judith to literally take the things from her hands, pay them (with the money that she had earned through her job at the gallery) and ask for them to be wrapped in a gift, alongside her gift for Cass and Steph

Well, that were two gifts with one move.

Smooth Judith, smooth.

Dick had certainly found his match.

And honestly not having to pretend to like some horrible gift was a relief.

They had gotten Steph a new highlighter (can never go wrong with highlighter) and got a set of skincare for beginners for Cass, since Judith had told Laurel that she had caught the girl enjoying the few masks Steph dropped to the Manor, but she was shy of talking about the subject with anybody, so Judith had thought of taking the matters in her own hands.

“You know for somebody who hasn’t done Christmas for something like ten years, you are doing really good” muttered Laurel as they indeed chilled their ass the small coffee shop mentioned previously, meanwhile Judith grimaced having burned her tongue on the chocolate lava cake they were sharing “… and quite clumsy… Gosh… give it a minute, Flash!”.

“… I am sorry, but I haven’t eaten chocolate in ten years!” protested loudly Judith, trying to fit another mouthful barely breathing to cool it down, and Laurel reached out to get the spoon away from her, stealing it before realization downed onto her.

“Wait… does that mean that Damian didn’t eat chocolate till he came to the manor?”.

Well, that seemed definitely a rough childhood, and as somebody whose weight was constantly controlled by her parents, she could understand that it wasn’t the best thing to do to a child.

“Talia sneaked in some for him” replied softly Judith, regaining the spoon “… I remembe her bringing some for me as well, but I just gave it to the midget, and you should have seen how cute he looked all chubby and adorable”.

“… bold of you to assume that that chubbiness ever left him” replied Laurel, dipping in gently towards the dessert, as she put a bit of ice cream on her spoon to cool down the hot liquid chocolate inside the cake “… I honestly want to pinch his cheeks half of the time, but I do care about my cute pianist fingers so…”.

“I’ll hold him down, if you want to” proposed Judith, finally managing to eat the cake without burning her tongue “… I have already proposed it to Dick and we are doing it on Christmas’ Eve if you are interested…”.

“I don’t know whether I should join or call the social services” Laurel sent her a confused look.

“… that would be a very very interesting conversation…” muttered the other girl, dipping her own spoon in the ice cream, following her friend’s example “… almost as much as that time Batman called Jim Gordon because Damian stole the Batmobile”.

That got Laurel to almost choke on the cake in her mouth.

And Judith didn’t even bat her eyes, before moving to dig more chocolate.

“… true story, yeah” she answered Laurel’s unasked question.

“Sometimes I wish that I could do the night shift” muttered Laurel, her spoon digging almost aggressively in the cake “… more money and fun, the sole disadvantage is that I’d have to take in masked goons and I don’t think that I could keep a straight face”.

“Officer, you don’t understand! This is who I am, not a phase!” they both laughed loudly at that, moving to their beverages to help ease the burn in their respective mouth, just to risk spitting it all out as a pair of hands fell down both their faces and a grating voice shouted:

“Guess who I am!”.

Stephanie Brown, without a doubt.

Laurel thought that she had received more vocal messages from her during this week than from anybody else in her whole life.

But it was nice.

When they weren’t focused on ‘since you are Jason’s girlfriend by now, we have to share Pinterest boards for our weddings’.

“… a fucking troll” muttered Judith, as the hands left Laurel’s eyes with a light annoyed hum, making her realize that Stephanie wasn’t alone, but Cassandra was the one who covered Judith’s eyes and the girl looked positively adorable with her red cheeks, probably dragged by the blondie.

“The annoying blondie who sends me messages about whether I drank water or not at 3 a.m.” answered lightly Laurel, as Stephanie, uncaring of anybody’s stares due to her high-pitched tone, took a chair from an empty table and dragged it to the table, Cass imitating her, encouraged by Judith who moved their bags aside from the third chair of the table.

“I just want you to stay hydrated!” protested the blonde girl “… and by the way we won’t bother you for long, since we have our knights waiting for us”.

And with a small look to the glass window of the shop, she showed that both Tim and Duke were waiting outside with what looked like a few too many bags, definitely being used by the girls as bag-carriers and they were finally catching a bit of time off, considering all the bags on their arms.

“… so, we won’t be able to stay too long, but we just wanted to drop in and say ‘hi’” and to emphasize this Cass waved softly at Laurel, who waved in return with a soft smile, getting hugged on the side by Stephanie and although surprise definitely made the whole dynamic awkward at first, they managed to work it out.

And for Stephanie to steal a bite of their cake.

“Hey!” protested loudly Judith, catching her too late “… I have killed for less”.

“Batman says no killings!” replied lightly the blondie, pushing the piece of food in her mouth and swallowing it wholly, which made Laurel erupt with laughter, meanwhile Judith sent her a glare as if ‘she found nothing funny in this disrespect’.

“Perfect, Brown, you just lost your Christmas gift privileges!” that got a bigger reaction from Steph, meanwhile even Cass let out a small laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation.

But Laurel couldn’t just think of a happier time, in her life, since she had moved to Gotham.

Jason would be pissed to know that.

“… you got me a Christmas present?!” Steph’s surprise wasn’t genuine in the slightest and neither was Judith’s badly exaggerated rage.

“… that you won’t get!”.

“Don’t be cruel, Judith”.

“I am known by all the Mexican drug cartel as the fucking Llorona and I am considered by international security agencies a female fucking John Wick, so I am allowed to be a bit cruel” replied the girl with the lowest of voice that would have sounded extremely threatening hadn’t Laurel witnessed her trying to shove a burning cake in her mouth, just a few moments before.

“… I have seen you rolling around with Titus” added Stephanie, as Judith blushed brightly.

“… and Judith… does strange voice when talking with Dick” Cass’ words was definitely unsure but it didn’t stop the three, from focusing on Judith, who just wanted to dig her own grave “… sweet sweet”.

“I am ditching you all and hanging with Tim and Duke” muttered Judith, trying a quick sweep into the ice cream that was mostly melted on the plate, but still good.

“Oh, you wouldn’t like… because they only have conversations about conspirations theories and no, you don’t want to hear what the reason is behind why frogs do that sound”.

“… Duke and Tim… think that… croak croak are just… plastic”.

Ok, why was everybody in the Batfamily a crackhead?

It was starting to get to the point when Jason was basically the most normal.

And honestly what could she expect from somebody who dressed up as a bat to fight crime.

“… now I want to know what is the genius conversation that brought thar up” Judith’s face definitely looked impressed at the new level of nonsense that they were reaching “… like… what a bold statement, for somebody who basically knows that aliens exist”.

“The second option was that frogs were an alien species” and Laurel stopped Steph as she tried to reach out for the bags where they had all their gifts, probably trying to understand what they had gotten her, just for her hands to be slapped away as Judith brought the gifts further away “… hey, I just wanted to know what gift I would get! Since I am apparently not getting it!”.

“You are about to get something else…” muttered lightly Judith at that “… on my freaking nerves and in the ground once we spar next time”.

“Oh no, you are going down, old woman!”.

“I am twenty-seven!”.

“With a leg in your tomb!”.

Laurel’s phone rang meanwhile Judith took a piece of the tangerine that was laid as a decoration on the plate to throw it at the blondie, and risked of catching her friend, who showed them all her phones as she excused herself to exit the bar, to take on the call.

“Tell lover boy that he can’t interrupt girl times!” this time it was her who threw a piece of tangerine at Steph.

Without missing.

It wasn’t Jason.

It was her sister.

Laurel had sent her the Nightwing video before going out with Judith, since she knew that if she sent it during a time where she was alone at home, it would just make her even more anxious about wanting to get some kind of answer, which wasn’t a good thing.

So, she had sent the message and the focused on the task at hand with Judith.

And the fact that she had forgotten about this whole ordeal due to the fun that she was having with the girls, definitely solidified her conviction that she could do this more often.

That she should do this more often.

And yet, when the memory of the message came back to her it just… it just blew up.

And she was freaking anxious, again.

Perfect.

Now please take the fucking call.

She unlocked the phone and the conversation, bringing the phone to her ear as she sat down on a small ridge in the backside of the coffee table, since it helped her being shielded from anyone that was passing through the mall, in that moment.

Oh, fuck: eating something sweet was a wrong idea.

Fuck if this was an entirely wrong idea.

“… hello?” she knew who the caller was so she shouldn’t have seemed so surprised, but she tried to appear somehow collected in a way that would have made her seem less like a concerned parent, since Victoria had made sure to tell her that this wasn’t what she wanted from her sister.

“Laurel” as inexpressive as it could come with a phoneline between each other “… got your video”.

“Oh, ahem… good?”.

“… I thought you were in Gotham not in Blundhaven” that wasn’t good, too many questions that she couldn’t answer.

“I might have a friend in Blundhaven that got me a nice Nightwing cameo”.

“Honestly… that was fucking amazing”.

And Laurel breathed for the first time since this phone call had started.

They both laughed awkwardly.

Well, it was almost a year since she had last heard from each other, so Laurel knew that Victoria was allowed to feel uncomfortable about contacting her and that the feeling was meant to be mutual.

She had actually talked with her therapist before planning the phone call.

‘You are allowed to end it whenever you want, and you have to respect your sister’s boundaries’ she had explained to Laurel ‘This is for you as much as it is for her’.

“I thought it was the least I could do” Laurel muttered once the silence became awkward “… also I just wanted to like… wish you happy Christmas and like… talk with you… but I do understand if you are busy”.

That was bad.

She was rambling.

“… you were right” that definitely stopped from Laurel from talking any further “… about mom… not wanting my best”.

Oh shit.

Well, a year ago she would have told her ‘I told you so’, but right now, she could only focus on Victoria’s heartbroken tone, as she wanted to rush wherever she was and hug her tightly.

“… Tori… fuck, no… isn’t something about who is right or wrong” because in any case it would have been their mother “… are you… are you safe to talk freely, right now?”.

“I wouldn’t have talked if I wasn’t…” Tori’s tone was bitter but not towards her, which was definitely nice “… I truly missed hearing from you, Laurie”.

Fuck.

Laurel couldn’t help but feel guilty for not having called Victoria before, letting her good sense be clouded by her anger and insecurities.

Fuck, she shouldn’t have gone to Gotham.

“It is just… that… each time I want to do something… she has… she has to take it for herself, which in turn has been damaging my status and I have been basically spending all these months doingnothing but following her and acting like her pretty figurine” the anger in Tori’s voice was so empty of energy, and it made Laurel choke on her own breath “… I should have … listened to you. You knew how mom treated us, I couldn’t… I couldn’t think…”.

Their mother had always treated Victoria better than Laurel, so she couldn’t blame her sister for having a distorted vision of reality.

Laurel was just sorry that she was discovering it when everything went was going to shit for her beloved sister.

“… at first I thought… she wanted only the best for me but…” Laurel knew that Victoria was a minute from full on starting to cry “… but now I am fucking sure the only person that she cares about is herself”.

Which was a perfect description of their mother.

“Do you want to come here?” she wasn’t sure that she could come wherever she was, first of all, because of their mother that would have stopped such a thing from happening and secondly because she doubted that Victoria wanted her by her side.

Victoria to Laurel had always been the visual representation of her mistakes.

And that was one of the reasons why she had distanced herself from Victoria.

Now a similar situation was going on between them, which meant that she was sure that Victoria didn’t want Laurel beside her, although she promised not to say: ‘I told you so’.

“… no, but thank you for offering” Victoria’s voice had gently lowered itself, as she tried to get control of it, before it was too late “… but I wanted to hear about you, I have been truly worried for you, Laurie, I’ll have you know that apparently Gotham is one of the cities with the highest crime rate in America”.

Well that certainly put a damper on Laurel confessing her that she was dating a vigilante.

“… I am fine, Tori” she mumbled softly, reminding herself about the beautiful day had had with her friends “… and it isn’t so bad”.

“And how did you meet NIghtwing?”.

“Friend of a friend, Vickie!” well, the whole secret identity was more difficult to handle than she had thought “… but don’t turn away the attention from you, you know that you can come over here whenever you need it, if mom gets too much or I could talk with her and…”.

“She is our mother”.

Laurel wouldn’t have agreed, but she guessed that Victoria didn’t seem to want to talk about this.

“… this doesn’t allow her from disrupting our life” and fuck, if she would have stopped her from destroying Victoria’s life, with every breath in her lungs.

But if her sister didn’t want to be helped, there wasn’t much that could be done without Laurel resulting in the bad guy of the situation, as it had previously happened.

So, she could just stay in her angle and wait for Victoria to come to her.

“… well, I have learned to handle her and…” Victoria’s voice shifted completely and Laurel reminded herself that they were a family of actresses “… I am currently working on a new project… you won’t believe it who I’ll have beside me, if mom doesn’t disrupt it! You won’t ever guess”.

“Ahem… Brad Pitt?” it was Victoria’s childhood crush, but Victoria shot down the idea with a simple ‘hum’ “… Leonardo di Caprio? Johnny Deep? Ahem… give me a clue!”.

“It’s a girl!” shot back Victoria “… ok, I’ll relent since you are stuck in that little city, with no knowledge of any famous gossip”.

“Hey!”.

“It’s Zatanna Zatara! The magician!”.

Oh…

Oh!

“That’s very cool, Vickie! Congrats for it!”.

The laughter on the other side of the phone was definitely better than Victoria’s tears

Victoria then went along with explaining the whole project and how she had gotten into it and how excited she was for everything, meanwhile Laurel listened on, glad that the attention has been shifted away from her, and glad to know that her sister had still a bit of happiness in herself.

“… still listening?” muttered at a certain point Victoria, right as Judith finally reached her, sending her a slight wave and then a gesture of hand that said: ‘take all the time you need’, and a quick look on the screen made Laurel aware that she had spent thirty minutes to talk with her sister.

Which she wasn’t regretting, but she had promised to Judith to help her out with the gifts and they still had to finish a few things.

But she didn’t know if Victoria felt a bit better.

Still, Victoria decided for her.

“Are you busy, Laurie?” her tone didn’t seem in any way emotional and Laurel had the precise idea that she was hiding something from her “… because if you are busy, we can continue this later!”.

“Ahem, not really, I just… you caught me on a Christmas shopping trip, with a few friends” there was no need to lie to her, even more because Victoria would have definitely understood if she was lying to her face and wouldn’t have appreciated it.

“… then you can call me when you are freer!” and then her voice softened “… I missed you, big sis!”.

“Missed you too, little one!”.

The phone call ended, and Laurel gestured to Judith to come closer, as the girl sat beside her.

“… it was my sister…” she didn’t know why it came to her so easy to talk with Judith.

Probably because the woman wouldn’t have judged her for anything.

“… she has been having quite a few problems with our mother and I have to say I haven’t been the most present since a fight, but it felt nice to talk with her”.

It had.

“If you want, I can give you a few minutes or…” suggested Judith, always strangely knowing what to say.

“I thought assassins were meant to be heartless monsters”.

“We are trained in appearing empathetic” muttered the other girl, making you smirk lightly “… but seriously, take all the time you need Laurel”.

Laurel took a deep breath, before pulling away from the ridge she was sat onto, followed swiftly by Judith, who gently threw an arm over her shoulders, bringing by her side comfortably and fuck if it felt good.

* * *

Steph and Cass had shot their goodbyes, when they had seen Judith and Laurel coming back, and they had bought to the two boys outside two cups of coffee for their patience, although both of them had just said that they had been ‘people-watching’.

‘Which isn’t in the slightest fun with Duke!’ muttered Tim, elbowing lightly the boy in question who elbowed him right back.

‘You thought that lady, who is as harmless as a fly by the way, was a supervillain!’ retorted Duke, getting all the girls to laugh.

They then decided to split up, since Stephanie and Cass had to go back home at the manor, with the boys, meanwhile Laurel and Judith had half an hour to collect the few gifts they had to get, which included Jason’s and Damian’s.

And then they were also out, in Judith’s car, the girl having quite a confidence in driving, even more when they got to a more deserted place, speeding up lightly, meanwhile Laurel shot her a surprised look as if to say: ‘do you think you are racing an SF1000?’.

And the girl beside her just speeded up.

As they reached Laurel’s apartment, her hair was definitely a mess, not to talk about her stomach.

But it had been an experience.

“Thank you for the help with the Christmas gifts!” muttered Judith as they chilled in front of her house, neither of them wanting to say ‘goodbye’, since their plans for the night weren’t that interesting and Laurel would have invited Judith to spend the night at hers, but she also knew that Victoria counted on a call from her “… we should do this more often”.

“… ahem, yeah but I kind of think that Christmas is in a few days…”.

“I meant going out together” retorted Judith with a half-hearted annoyed look on her face “… I mean… if you want to and aren’t scared of like being seen with a psychotic bitch”.

“Considering that a narcissist grew me, you can’t be that bad!”.

“Sometimes your low standards scare me” the assassin in question shot back, as she retreated in the car, the coldness of the air definitely not sitting right with her pendant for hot places, which she shared with Laurel.

Right now, her radiators seemed the best place to sit her ass on.

“I am dating Jason Todd, am I not?” she shot back, before worry overtook her “… I mean… I think…”.

“No, no, you are dating Jason Todd and once I get Dick Grayson on the plan, we are having twin weddings in Florida, alright?” and without waiting for Laurel to get over her shock at Judith mentioning Dick on her own, she speeded off, effectively stealing herself from the incriminating scene.

Well, she definitely missed the warmth.

After ditching her coat and warming herself up, as she moved to set up the few things that she had bought (Judith had actually kept her present, so she couldn’t do much aside remembering how pretty it looked in the shop), she called back her sister and was surprised when her message didn’t go straight up to voicemail.

During the second call, Victoria seemed a bit more comfortable and definitely having come down from the intense emotions that she had felt with Laurel, during the first call.

They ended up on a Facetime call, as Victoria showed Laurel her luxurious hotel suite, meanwhile the other girl focused her camera on the unhealthiest meal in the world, getting a ‘that’s so greasy! Ok don’t tempt me!’ from Victoria, before they erupted in laughter as they did when they were only children.

Although they hadn’t talked in such a long time, it felt like no time had actually passed between them, which made Laurel feel a lot better, considering that these days she hadn’t been nothing but an anxious mess, full of guilt for having left behind her sister.

The conversation was by now just filled by their hums, as they both talked about something that didn’t seem to truly interest the other, but it felt good to be able to talk to each other calmly.

Or to simply talk to each other.

“… what if I come over in Gotham for Christmas?”.

The question had shaken Laurel awake, as she had laid down on her sofa, watching an awful cooking show, as she started her ‘food coma’ and almost risked her phone being thrown across the room.

She looked at her sister in the face, something shy appearing on it.

“Are you serious, Tori?”.

Technically her Christmas would have been spent alone, at home.

She doubted that Jason would have come back in time, since the last time they had talked, he had told her that he’d be lucky to return for the 6th of January, and although Jim had suggested that she spent at least Christmas’ Eve with him and Barbara, Laurel had felt like an intruder, since, by now, she spent more time in that house than in her own.

Pearl would be visiting some relatives away from Gotham and Laurel couldn’t blame her.

She knew that technically she could have dropped at the Wayne Manor, but again… it felt like overstepping and she hated when she was a bother to anyone but herself.

So, the thought of spending the Christmas with her sister, instead of alone, sounded heavenly.

But also, dangerously ‘too good to be true’.

“… yeah, I mean… I meant more like Christmas’ Eve, since I have a gig in New York on the 26th, but I guess that I could come during the late afternoon of the 24th and stay for the lunch of the 25th, if it won’t bother you…” that would have been perfect “… if you obviously don’t have an annoying roommate to stop me”.

Considering that Jason was God-knows-where, Laurel saw no problems in letting her sister stay.

“Oh, nothing of that kind!” she immediately replied “… you are more than welcome to stay as much as you want in my humble abode, I honestly can’t wait… I should definitely start planning considering it’s the 20th!”.

Would Victoria even be able to get her hands on a ticket considering what time of the year it was?

Oh, it wasn’t the moment to be a grinch!

“I’ll get a ticket and let you know better the details!” well, they would have their answers soon enough “… oh, I honestly can’t wait to see you, Laurie! I have missed you so so much!”.

“Missed you too, Vickie” she simply mumbled “… do let me know, once you are sure so I can get everything ready for you!”.

“… you know that a simple pizza will be alright?” as always Victoria seemed to know what to do “… do you remember when you were in college and mom was on her gig in Argentina and we passed it in your dormitory with pizza and sparkling wine!”.

“Wasn’t it the best Christmas ever?” Laurel who hadn’t had a pizza in two years by then, had definitely felt the happiest, and she knew that Victoria somehow always managed to blossom away from their mother.

She honestly hoped to have a small talk with her about the matter.

She hadn’t pushed on the matter, during the call, mostly because she didn’t want to sound intruding or annoying, but if Victoria was unhappy of the treatment her mother was reserving her, Laurel could maybe help her with a new plan for her future, keeping up her actress dreams.

It felt good to have a sister again.

“… well, I’ll go, because I have my session of tai chi, but I am holding onto the hope of seeing you soon and not through a phone!” saluted her Victoria.

“I hope the same, too!” she truly hoped that her Christmas wouldn’t be spent alone “… and in the meanwhile, you do know that I am just one call away, don’t you?”.

“Now I know, big sister”.

* * *

Considering that she had thought of having to spend the Christmas alone, Laurel had swiftly found herself not only having to entertain the thought of her sister joining her, but also Judith, with whom she had gone out for a drink the following night.

‘We are going to start with your admission of wanting to marry Dick Grayson’ Laurel had cornered her friend, meanwhile a waiter took their orders to the bartenders.

‘As if I am the sole one wishing that …’ had retorted Judith, pushing herself further in the drinks-menu, almost as if she wanted to hide, there.

And not only from the inquisitive look of her friend.

Laurel had immediately noticed how everybody at the bar had set their eyes on Judith, the moment that they had arrived, and she would have lied if she had said that the whole thing didn’t bother her a bit, although she was basking in the anonymity of men being too taken by Judith.

Nobody seemed to know who Laurel Cellini was, and most importantly who her mother was.

And she certainly enjoyed the free drinks coming their way.

Judith, by the end of the night, was absolutely sober, since by her own admission alcohol would have set her belly on fire, meanwhile Laurel was the right balance between utterly plastered and flirty dizzy.

So, she saw it as a win that she managed to get Judith to join her Christmas’ Eve party.

Victoria had told her that morning that she had gotten plane ticket and would be at her house by 6 p.m. of the 24th of December, which had made Laurel want to squeal in pure joy, and in her half-inebriated trance, she had revealed all her Christmas plans to Judith.

When she had done so, on the pretty face of the ex-assassin had appeared a nostalgic smile, as she explained that she would be probably spending both the Christmas’ eve and Christmas with the Waynes.

‘I wonder if there is anything wrong with me…’ Judith had muttered, as her fingers lightly trailed the border of the glass of coke she had ordered “… I mean… they are all… lovely, but sometimes it just feels like their loveliness is just a way to keep me in check… and like… almost as if they think that one day I’ll wake up and suddenly be like them”.

And Laurel who had constantly been forced to play a role in her all life, couldn’t have that happening.

“Then come to my Christmas’ Eve party!” she proposed to a startled Judith “… I and my sister are getting some pizza and she should be bringing expensive champagne, so like… if you don’t fancy the Wayne extravaganza, you can come to my party… with low expectations”.

Judith had been honestly so shaken by the proposal, that Laurel had had to bop her nose to see if she was still listening to her.

“… I wouldn’t want to… ahem… intrude… Laurel”.

“Honestly… I feel like I get at least one Robin at night, these days, so I am used to intruders…” she shot back, lowering her voice conspiratorially, probably with the biggest silly smile on her face “… so like… don’t worry! I could actually need a hand…”.

As much as she was eager to see again her sister, Laurel couldn’t help but think about how awkward it would have been and having Judith by her side seemed handy.

Laurel just hoped that it wouldn’t be a problem for Victoria.

But with the newest alcohol shot, offered by the gentlemen on their left, Laurel pushed back all the worry to the following day, glad that she had had it off to set up the various surprises for the 23rd when she was supposed to deliver a few gifts at the police station to the boys in both juvie, foster care and orphanages.

She had also employed the help of a few ‘volunteers’ for that.

Giblinson and his family had been extremely eager to set up the good example and Laurel hadn’t even had to blackmail the man.

Too much.

She had even been surprised when Bruce Wayne had joined the idea, donating generously to the funds they used for this kind of things.

She could only guess that Jason had talked with him about her idea.

She was thankful of that, because it had been extremely expensive to order everything last minute.

Laurel just hoped that everything went along.

She had come up with this whole plan , after getting a copy of ‘Cheese Viking’ to Jack, once she had come to visit him to make sure that everything was alright that the scumbag hadn’t come back to hurt either him or his mother.

The child’s eyes had lighted up so brightly that Laurel had thought that she would have loved to give something special to similar less-fortunate children, or at least to give them a bit of the magic of Christmas, since nobody was too grown up for Santa or Miss Claus.

“… I’d love, then…” this time it was Judith who surprised her, accepting her proposal“… obviously if you don’t mind, and I can get you the dessert, stealing one of the many that Alfred does, because let me tell you… that man is the definition of stress-baking!”.

“To Alfred!” had chanted Laurel, but Judith had definitely cut her off, although she wasn’t in any way as black out drunk as she had been during her first party in college.

Still, Judith had had to take her back home, helping her up the stairs, since the elevator was broken, and had made sure that Laurel entered, before wishing her ‘goodnight’, then her phone beeped, probably signaling that she was needed for some ‘batstuff’.

Laurel was fighting with her jeans, when her own phone screen lighted up, making her worry that maybe it was Judith who had thought back on coming to her Christmas’ Eve party.

But the unknown number definitely brought a smile on her face.

“… babyyyyyy”.

“Why I have half an idea of you having met a bottle of tequila tonight?” muttered the rough voice on the other line.

Laurel completely ignored it, taking advantage of her loosened inhibitions.

“… what are you wearing, baby?” that was unnecessarily too slurred.

“… sweetheart, not that I am not into this kind of things, but you are black out drunk and I won’t take advantage of you, even more when you will crash onto bed in a few minutes…” he told her and fuck if Laurel giggled loudly.

“You are the fuuuucking beeest, Jay-Jay!”.

“… I’ll have fun calling you tomorrow morning” he muttered lightly “… get water by your bedside table, lover of mine, or tomorrow you’ll be hating yourself more than usual”.

“I don’t hate myself!” Laurel replied, obviously her whole being wanting to cuddle with the man on the other line “… I mean… not so much since you are in my life”.

A minute of silence made understand even to tipsy Laurel that she had just said something stupid.

“… I truly truly wish that you had told me that when you weren’t drunk” Jason’s voice was gentle, although his words were stern “… because fuck, if I am happy to hear that I can do something good in this shit of life”.

“Training shirtless is also an amazing quality of yours”.

It had gotten to the point where Laurel wasn’t feeling even ashamed for how horny she was being.

“… oh, Laurel, you are a joy for my ears!” he shouted back “… but now, sleep sleep, sweet birdie of mine”.

“I’ll sleep when I want to!” she protested, but yeah, she was definitely feeling sleepy, it was better to get to her bed, when she had still the faculty to indeed ‘crash onto it’.

“I am not the boss of you, ‘Rel” Jason’s reply was sweet as if he had by now understood that there wasn’t a way to made Laurel quiet down “… but since I am the person that makes you hate yourself a bit less, I’d love to know that you are actually taking care of yourself”.

“… then you also have to go to sleep! Because I want you to sleep all those good eight hours! Ok?”.

“Ok” not that Jason had many options to reason with a half-drunken Laurel.

“Goodnight”.

“Goodnight!”.

* * *

“Don’t talk to me” Laurel was definitely grumpier that following morning.

“But sweetie, you were the freaking happiest, last night” shot back Jason, meanwhile Laurel tried to think about what she could stomach, when everything in the kitchen made her want to throw up.

“… last night, I was a whole different person” she shot back “… I honestly don’t even know why I still think that I have the age for this kind of things”.

“Or the wallet” shot back Jason, as Laurel settled on tea and a few cookies that were something like fat free and looked like they could put a dent against a wall, if thrown with enough force against it.

“Actually… most of the drinks were offered”.

Laurel honestly hadn’t thought too much of it, in the end most of the drinks had been directed to Judith, who left them for Laurel.

But not before testing them because ‘I am by now immune to all kind of poisons’ to which Laurel had replied ‘… why are you so cool and scary at the same time?’

And a few had also come Laurel’s way, much to her embarrassment.

And Jason’s annoyance.

If his silence was an indicator of it.

“… Jay?” she asked lightly, worried of the line being lost between them.

“When I go back, you are coming back with me to that bar”.

“Is that an order, sir?” oh fuck, if her head hadn’t hurt so much, she would have been even more of a smartass “… are you jealous?”.

“No, I just want to show off that I have the prettiest girl in Gotham”.

Well.

“… dumbass” she simply replied annoyedly, but she felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

“And Laurel, by the way…” that usually signaled that he would have to leave her soon “… I hate myself a bit less, since you are in my life, too”.

* * *

Well, the gift-giving project had actually worked out, brilliantly, although Laurel had basically stood outside of the police station in a red skirt for a few hours, feeling like she would have definitely frozen over hadn’t Pearl brought her hot cocoa every hour, offering to take a few turns when she needed it.

They had divided the whole thing in three turns, gifting the smaller children a few popular toys, letting them choose and then moved onto older children, who had received a few gift-cards for libraries and technological stores.

She hoped that they would be a nice gift to help and encourage them in their journeys of growing up.

Laurel knew that, although her childhood had been shit, she had been lucky to be allowed to do anything she ever wanted, because her mother could totally afford it.

So, she just hoped to be able to give a bit back to the children of Gotham, although some could be a bit cold-hearted and angry.

But she knew somebody who was just the same.

So, she understood why they would act that way.

It wasn’t anything personal, but Laurel just hoped that this would bring out some goodness and warmth in them.

After she finished with the charity donations, she clocked out checking the few things she had left on her desk, which meant getting everything in order, for the mess that Christmas would have been, considering that Jim Gordon had told her that it was ‘the busiest time of the year’.

‘Maniacs in costumes really dig playing the Grinch’ he had muttered, once Laurel told him that she could work the night-shift for the 25th, if she was allowed to have the morning free, to spend it together with her sister ‘… Pearl should definitely tell you about that time that the Riddler stole the big Christmas tree’ in the center of the city.

So, yeah, she was glad of having had her ‘Christmas hangover’ before Christmas happened.

Except for the fact that Jason seemed to have a lot of blackmail material.

As she had exited the police station, she had stopped at home and then taking a cab, because she had too much stuff to bring with herself for the metro, Laurel had reached Wayne Manor, still dressed as Miss Claus.

She had also shot a few photos with a few of the parents of the child from the foster home and apparently Vickie Vale ‘would be sure to put her photo on the Gotham Gazette…

…freaking wonderful.

It had actually been awful to see herself in the costume, but after a few hours in the utter cold outside of the police station, she was willing to admit that her appearance had definitely bothered her less.

And she felt a bit cuter in red, due to Jason’s comments.

Laurel almost wished she could send him a few pics.

Alfred took her in, commenting on ‘how unexpected her visit was…’

“… but not unwelcome, Mrs. Cellini!” he showed her inside, again walking her to the main living room, where a few of the members of the family were adjusting what looked like obnoxious bat-themed decorations.

And hadn’t she sworn to protect the secret of Batman’s identity, she would have snapped a few photos.

Her presence definitely caught their attention, as her appearance.

“… is that a Santa Claus’ costume?” asked Steph, extremely confused.

“Female version of Santa Claus” corrected her Laurel, pushing forward a huge sack full to the brim of small gifts she had gotten for Jason’s family, since she thought that it was the least she could do, considering how close they had been to her, during these hard days “… from me and Jason!”.

Stephanie almost risked of trampling her over, as she came to get hers, just to be lightly pushed back by a reprimanding Alfred, and a warning from Laurel.

“… you can’t open them till Christmas!”.

And then shoved a small gift in a purple wrapping paper in her hands.

Then calling out Tim’s name.

She knew from Jason that Tim was actually Jewish but still celebrated Christmas with them, and Laurel had actually given him a few little gifts for Channukah, whenever he would stop by her house for patrol, nothing too much, but she didn’t want the boy to feel left out.

Still, she had gotten the boy a small gift, to unwrap on Christmas morning.

Laurel personally loved unwrapping Christmas presents, so she had thought it would be a nice gesture.

Then it came Cass’ turn, who stared at her for a long time, before gently accepting the gift, lightly brushing her fingers against Laurel’s to get the present.

A soft ‘thank you’, that didn’t go unnoticed to ‘Miss Claus’.

Duke was the following one, extremely surprised by the bright yellow wrapping paper, full of sunflowers.

And then it was Damian, the last one of the children in the house.

The child looked at her even more lost than Cass and for a moment Laurel wondered whether he knew what Christmas was, considering that he had grown in the League all this time.

She had also thought that he would enjoy unwrapping the present, but maybe… maybe the child thought it was offensive or…

And then Damian ran right against her, risking of knocking her down.

But fortunately, before hitting her, he opened her arms to gently hug her midwaist.

And fuck if Laurel wanted to cry.

She gently ruffled his hair and he offered the gift wrapped in green wrapping paper, and he took it hastily, as if he hadn’t just expressed his appreciation with the sweetest gesture that he could have come up with.

“… you are welcome” still Laurel muttered lightly at him, just to leave a few gifts for the people that were missing, and Alfred assured her that he would ‘make sure they found their ways underneath the Christmas tree, and there they would stay, unopened!’.

“… and also… Alfred…” she got out one final box and offered a small confection of what looked like a baked good, to offer it to the older man, who was definitely surprised by the gesture.

He gently took the gift in his hands.

“… it should be authentic ‘panettone’, an Italian treat, I got from a small shop in California. The family who owns it is Italian, so this should be as similar to the original as one could get!”.

Laurel had actually worked in the small shop to pay her move in Gotham, so she knew that the people who kept it going were amazing ones and the food was to-die for.

She had learnt how to bake there, but she hadn’t tried to recreate the traditional ‘panettone’, preferring to support the business, although her bank account cried horridly at all the gifts she had bought, making her even more aware that she’d need to save for the computer of her dreams.

But it was worth it.

Simply for Alfred’s surprised face.

“… oh Mrs. Cellini, you shouldn’t have!” he commented, but it was obvious he appreciated the thought, as he gently held her hand, gripping it a bit tighter, but not in a painful way “… since you have made all of this, I do think that the least we could do is have you for dinner, if you don’t have any plans!”.

So, that’s how Laurel ended up seated between Duke and Tim, in front of Damian, meanwhile Steph put all her vegetables in his plate, just for Cass to put even more in hers.

It was almost funny, hadn’t she been worried about which fork to use.

The fact that Judith joined them a few moments later, definitely made her a bit more comfortable.

Dick would be staying at Blundhaven till tomorrow evening, to join them on their Christmas’ Eve dinner, meanwhile Master Bruce was handling something that had come up with the Wayne Enterprises board.

‘Meaning he is choosing Jason’s gift’ Tim blurted in Laurel’s ear ‘… he is always choosing his last, since he never knows if he’ll show up or not’.

It felt strangely offensive and affectionate at the same time.

Which was a good way to describe Jason’s and Bruce’s relationship.

‘… Jason is a difficult person, but I do think that it’ll be hard to top my gift’ she shot back to Tim, who sent her a sly smirk, meanwhile Judith who had joined their side, since she ‘absolutely refused to stop a food fight going on between the children’, poked her chest with a dangerous allure in her eyes.

‘Can’t get much better for the poor bastard than having Laurel Cellini by his side’.

Well, that got her definitely flustered.

‘He wouldn’t agree with you but thank you for saying that I am a gift, you truly know how to make a girl feel special’.

\---

That morning Laurel had woken up with the idea that everything would go perfect.

She had ordered the pizzas for the ‘party’ a few days previously, being sure to order more than her sister and Judith had wanted, just to be sure that nobody would starve and she checked that same morning with pizza place to make sure that her order had been received.

Her sister had been actually glad to meet Laurel’s friend.

‘Gotta tell them about that time you had so much fun in primary school that you peed in your pants’.

‘I thought it was usually the older sister who made fun of the younger one’ Laurel had retorted after hearing her sister the previous day, too overjoyed for her sister’s arrival to be truly annoyed with her ‘… but I am glad that you don’t mind…’.

So, she had been doing her last shift at the police station, the whole place much more silent than she had expected, when she got a sudden call in the middle of her trying to convince Harvey Bullock that ‘no, she wasn’t getting her Red Hood action figure off her desk, because he thought it was disrespecting to the GDCP’, backed up by an annoyed Jim Gordon, who just shook his head annoyedly.

She took the call as she flicked off the commissioner and when she saw her sister’s number, she understood that there might have been something wrong.

Jason had told her again that previous night ‘not to get her hopes too high’ and in her optimism, she had been annoyed at his disbelief for his sister, choosing to be quite petty with him, till he had eventually changed the subject and told her about how Roy had almost blown his ass off.

Again.

So, she couldn’t help but have the feeling that, for once, Jason must have been right.

“… Laurie…” her sister called out her name with that sickly sweet tone that she did whenever she had something to hide or when she wanted Laurel to forgive her for something “… I have bad news sadly”.

She then proceeded to explain that she couldn’t come anymore to Gotham, since the gig she was supposed to be having on the 26th had been moved to 25th and she wouldn’t have made it stopping by her.

The all thing sounded like some kind of lie to Laurel.

But she was already heartbroken by that news, that she refused to psychoanalyze it any further, since it was something that her therapist had also suggested that she stopped doing, considering that it was fruitless and, in most cases, it just ruined her mood even more.

Another thing that she wanted to do but restrained from doing was actually blaming all of this on her mother.

Again, as her therapist had told her: it was useless and, in most cases, it just was used to shift the blame from Victoria, which made Laurel constantly feel like the bad guy whenever her sister pushed herself away from her to follow her mother.

‘You aren’t always in the wrong, Laurel’ she had muttered lightly ‘… sometimes also the people closest to you can hurt you, without knowing it, that is why you should put down some boundaries’.

Victoria continued to ramble on as Laurel came back from her mental counseling with herself.

“… don’t worry, Tori, I understand it” she settled on saying, not wanting to drag this out more “… I would have loved to pass the Christmas with you, but I understand why we’ll have to postpone it”.

Her tone was kept neutral, but she knew that Victoria could feel the pain in her voice, and she went again to rambling:

“I have sent over a bottle of champagne” her voice reminded her when they were children and Laurel honestly couldn’t stay mad to her sister, although she felt definitely bummed down by the news.

And she’d have to tell that bastard Jason that he had been right.

“… you shouldn’t have…” replied Laurel, as her voice became softer, noticing that Pearl on the desk in front of her had a similar sour mood, definitely also not feeling very Christmass-y at the moment “… if you give me an address, I can send you my Christmas present…”.

“You got me something, Laurel?” now Victoria’s voice was truly heartbroken, as if she thought that Laurel wouldn’t be an older sister even through the months that they had kept their distance “… fuck, you shouldn’t have... I am a terrible sister, truly…”.

“… as if I didn’t know that already…” tried to humor her Laurel “… I wasn’t the best during my staying in Gotham, so, I don’t… can’t speak about it, but believe me when I say that if you ever… want to come here, you’ll always have a seat at my table”.

“And one of those delicious muffins that you make?”.

“Why do people love my muffins more than me?”.

“It’s because they are sweet, and you are bitter”.

Both their moods seemed a bit brighter after their conversation, although Laurel still felt a bit of ache at the knowledge that she had been discarded again by her sister…

… but as again her therapist would have said, alongside Jason: that didn’t mean that she wasn’t worth it.

Once she was off the phone, wishing Victoria ‘good luck’ for her gig and ‘merry Christmas’, she moved to Pearl’s desk, where the girl laid with her head onto the desk in what looked like utter despair, till Laurel lightly tickled her hand, to get her attention.

“Let’s get a bit of hot cocoa” she muttered at the annoyed expression that Pearl shot back, as she covered her face with a dark hand, her pretty complexion definitely being brought out by the soft white sweater she was wearing “… c’mon, I have to treat you for saving my ass from Gotham’s coldness, yesterday!”.

“The truth is that you run on hot cocoa and making man twice your size angry” replied the other girl, as she regarded Laurel with a bit of spark in her brown eyes, lined with a deep trace of kajal that constantly made her glare ten times more powerful “… and I’d love that, but I am not in the mood, Lau”.

“Well, that I could guess” Laurel shot, lightly sitting on her desk, to face the girl “… what is troubling you, my handsome friend with a crush on Jennifer Lopez?”.

“That is a low blow!” but Pearl was laughing, eventually passing her phone to Laurel, which showed that her flight had been cancelled because of problematics with the weather “… sadly I’ll have to pass the Christmas, all alone in my apartment, away from my family…”.

Well, Laurel could understand perfectly why that would suck.

The only reason why she hadn’t broken down by now was because Judith would actually keep her company and even though she would miss her sister, she didn’t intend on allowing that feeling to fester her heart and ruin the holiday.

And then she had an idea.

Technically both she and Pearl weren’t able to see their loved ones, so why not spend this time together?

“… I know this… is a very sad situation and I won’t even pretend to know how awful it feels…” Pearl shot her a look that said: ‘don’t make me even more aware of my misery’ “… but if you don’t want to be alone, you can completely join my Christmas’ Eve party!”.

Pearl shot her a confused look.

“… ahem… don’t expect nothing too fancy, I have a friend over and pizza…”.

“Wait, Lau… I thought I was your sole friend!”.

“Listen… I am not that socially awkward…” shot back Laurel to a very disbelieving Pearl “… but yeah, I have another friend, pizza and champagne to pass my Christmas’ Eve, and if you want to join the fun, you are more than welcome to come”.

“Free food and occasion to know who you hang out with whenever you aren’t making commissioner Gordon burst an artery?” Pearl’s smile wasn’t as bright as usual, but the fact that she was being sarcastic was definitely better “… count me in… I mean… obviously if it isn’t a problem…”.

“It isn’t, Pearl of my eye!” Laurel shot back lightly, elbowing her softly as Pearl shot her an annoyed look.

“I can’t believe that Jensen deals with you” Pearl replied, gently bringing her closer with an arm over her shoulders “… but yeah… I am in then! Should I actually do anything?”.

“Pearl, the last time you brought something in the office, made by yourself, we had to consult the forensic department to understand whether it was laced with kryptonite or not”.

“… understood” Pearl raised her hands, and then pushed lightly Laurel off her desk “… and now I’d take that hot cocoa offer, gladly”.

* * *

As they were exiting the office, after having wished to everyone a ‘lovely Christmas’, they found Judith with her car waiting for them both outside, since she had suggested coming to take Laurel at her work, since ‘it wasn’t in the slightest safe for her and her tendency of encounter danger to put her life to risk to walk her ass back home on Christmas’ Eve’.

After hearing that Pearl and a brief presentation from the ex-mercenary, she had mumbled straight in Laurel’s ear:

‘I like her’.

So, Laurel got the backseat, meanwhile Pearl claimed ‘shotgun’, effectively getting to choose the music and blasting Christmas carol, to which Judith started belting out much to their common friend’s amusement in the backseat.

Arriving at Laurel’s apartment had proved to be quite difficult due to the congested traffic of everyone wanting to get out of Gotham for the following few days, knowing that psychopathic looked as good in red as Santa, himself, did.

Which made Laurel realize that her sister had actually been smart not coming there.

And as promised, she found on her door a bottle of what looked very expensive champagne that got a raised eyebrow from Pearl, but the girl certainly didn’t protest when she poured a bit in her flute.

And it effectively tasted expensive.

But the pizza was the best part.

Judith, although a bit shy because of Pearl’s presence (and Laurel, an introvert could understand her perfectly), definitely seemed to enjoy her.

Even more when she started spewing all the awkward stuff that Laurel did, meanwhile working at the station.

“… and this is how Laurel ended up showing Tik Tok dances to the commissioner” finished explaining Pearl, meanwhile she basically sniffed her pizza, which they ate basically in the dining room, simply sat around on the floor and the sofa, the epitome of laziness, and cheered up by the small Christmas tree Laurel had put up during the weekend to bring a bit more of Christmass-y mood in her house.

“I sometimes think that Laurel is the sole reason why we aren’t allowed to go on social medias when we are on call” added Pearl as she took a large bite on her pizza with ham.

Laurel had drawn the line at pineapple pizza, to honor her nationality.

“… that and commissioner Gordon’s inability to do the renegade” commented the girl in question, as she tried to do the movement, just to get the two other girls to laugh loudly, as the TV sounded softly in the background “… haters are gonna hate”.

“You don’t have to quote Taylor Swift for everything”.

“Yeah, I know, but you see I want to…”.

Judith’s laugh was so adorably genuine and Laurel couldn’t help but smile adoringly at her pretty girl relaxing with them.

She wasn’t delusional enough to think that Judith was at total ease with them, but it felt good to know that she felt safe enough with Laurel to allow her emotions to show on her face.

And she looked very pretty laughing.

She was at her fifth slice of pizza, when her phone rang, showing an unknown caller, which meant that she would spend the following thirty minutes hearing from Jason reprimanding her about the whole Victoria’s situation and had she wanted to, she would have ignored the call.

But she also very very much wanted to hear about Jason.

Even if he could be a pain in the ass.

But everyone was better at Christmas.

Or so she hoped.

“… gotta tell Jensen where to show the Christmas spirit” she muttered lightly, as she took the phone and moved in her bedroom, still hearing Judith and Pearl gossiping about her and Jensen, and Laurel was glad that Judith wasn’t oblivious enough to ask: ‘who is Jensen’.

“Merry Christmas, babe!” she was welcomed, as she accepted the talk with and Laurel for a moment thought that he was the one drunk this time, but instead it appeared that indeed he had been visited by the Ghost of the Batfamily Christmas “… already having the time of your life in our apartment?”.

“… yeah, you are ruining my night with the girls” she joked back, softly leaning on her bed, her legs definitely weak in hearing Jason in such a good mood “… wish ‘merry Christmas’ to also Roy and Kori, by the way…”.

“Actually, I am all alone right now” that explained the way he talked, freely, definitely without the care of being discovered sexting with his girlfriend/roommate “… I … they had another work and mine here is almost finished, which means that I should be back soon”.

“It’ll never be soon enough” she muttered.

“And I am the dramatic one!” shot back Jason “… but I am glad to know that you want me beside you, I was ready to hack through the changed locks”.

“I thought you specialized in tires!”.

“… I have many talented for you, sweetie” he shot back, his tone so soft that Laurel could almost feel him beside her

Except he wasn’t close enough.

“… well, I hope to find them out”.

“We could find one out right now, if you hadn’t guests”.

Ok, Laurel’s face was as red as Santa Claus right now.

“… Jason!” she shot back “… Pearl and Judith might be out of the door!”.

“Oh, Gosh… Pearl! How is she?” he asked, and Laurel heard something creaking on the other line, signaling Jason had shifted his position and somehow she could picture him now being on his stomach with a leg perked up in the air.

Ok, it was cute.

“She is a fucking threat, and I shouldn’t have made her meet Judith” she commented, with a fake tired tone “… but she is fine”.

“We should consider a double-date option” he muttered, and it made Laurel’s heart skip a bit, because was Jason planning their future.

Which meant that he could see them having one.

“… you owe me a date, after all”.

That was a clear reference to when she had gone undercover with Dick, lying Jason she had a date.

She never thought she saw him so heartbroken.

“… that I do” she muttered lightly, glad that they hadn’t touched the burning matter of the night.

“Is your sister joining you? I thought she was supposed to be coming this afternoon…”.

Well, the silence that came after his question was enough of an answer.

“She ditched you, didn’t she?”.

Hadn’t Jason sounded that delightfully protective, she would have told him to ‘mind his own business’.

She still went on a small sarcastic note still.

“… don’t tell me, ‘I told you so’ ” she simply muttered, receiving a light laugh from the other line.

“Would never allow myself to say that to you” he muttered lightly “… but I am sorry to hear that… ‘Rel, I am sorry”.

“You are on the other part of the world, so like you aren’t that good…”.

“I am working on the other half of the world” he shot back, the tension making Laurel relax a bit as she noticed that she had overstepped a bit.

“… still, I miss you, both” she muttered lightly “… but I’ll have other Christmas, I’ll get to spend with you… I hope…”.

“I could always kidnap her”.

“Jason, that’s illegal” she shot back, trying to be serious till a small laugh exited her mouth.

“Then you’ll have to deal simply with me…” that made you smile a bit, at the thought of seriously having more Christmas spent with him “… till your sister finally gets her head out of her…”.

“… why do I deal with you?”.

“Because of my huge…”.

“Jason!”.

“Merry Christmas, babe” he settled on, gently adjusting on the bed “… drink responsibly and if you end up having a singing contest save the videos so I can revisit the moment of you completely screaming out of your lungs, to revisit my fantasy of dating Black Canary”.

“Sometimes I believe that you are dating me simply for my collection of books”.

“Well…”.

They both laughed lightly, as a tense silence fell onto them both.

Because fuck if they both wanted to hold each other.

And the phone conversations weren’t enough.

“… merry Christmas, as well, Jay-Jay”.

“So, the drunk petname will stick around, won’t it?”

“Oh yeah”.

* * *

They hadn’t initiated a singing contest.

Yet.

Also, because Judith would kick both Laurel’s and Pearl’s asses.

But after the two threats had tormented Laurel for details about ‘Jensen’, they had delved onto a rather interesting game of ‘who do you think is the hottest vigilante in Gotham’, much to Laurel’s obvious embarrassment, because apparently:

‘No, Laurel, you can’t agree that is Nightwing, when you literally have an action figure of the Red Hood on your desk’.

‘I HAVE IT BECAUSE IT MATCHES MY AESTHETIC!’.

‘… Pearl, do you think she checks out the security cameras to check him out?’.

‘Listen, I am not the one who asks constantly whether Batman wears a cup or not’.

‘… about Batman: do you think he has a morally dubious relationship with Catwoman!’.

‘Of fucking course!’.

‘Laurel, you should ask her next time you have to pat her down’.

‘Yeah, optimal conversation themes “do you fuck the Batman? You know we are all getting confused about whether you hate each other or just hate-fuck each other”’.

Judith at that moved lightly to lean onto Laurel as they were both sat on the sofa, meanwhile Pearl was leaned onto a seat of various pillows.

‘I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to look at Bruce in the eyes, again, after this delightful conversation’ she muttered, to which Laurel replied with:

‘You can actually look at him in the eyes?!’.

Their playful banter was interrupted by Laurel’s phone ringing and Pearl whistled, proclaiming that it was ‘again her lover boy’ which got her only a middle finger as an answer, meanwhile Judith shifted onto the floor adjusting her posture.

And apparently it wasn’t Jason pestering her again, but Barbara.

“… my father apparently was called in at work and had to leave me, all alone” well Babs certainly didn’t enjoy small talk “… since he said that you and Pearl were also spending Christmas alone, I thought of giving you a call to know if you’d like to pass it here, I mean… the one hour and half that is separating us from Christmas, actually”.

“Oh… we are actually, spending it together at my apartment…” muttered Laurel, feeling a bit guilty as Babs gasped her displeasure on the other line “… but I mean… you could join us here… if you… don’t mind it too much obviously… and we got one more Don Perignon’s bottle to open…”.

“Wait, which bank did you rob to get your hands on such a bottle?” commented Babs, her voice definitely a bit cheered up “… and I mean… I wouldn’t want to like jump in your house… like I mean… you, girls, are clearly having the time of your life on your own…”.

“Babs, you don’t understand…” commented the other girl, assuming her most grave tone “… if you don’t come here and Pearl continue on calling out my obsession for Red Hood, there’ll be a murder on Christmas morning”.

“I am coming! I am coming!” agreed the redhead with a laugh “… send me the address gently and I should be here in a few minutes… obviously if it isn’t a problem!”.

“None of that kind” shot back Laurel, suddenly remembering about a little detail “… actually… my elevator is broken, and I live on the second floor, so I guess we’ll have to figure something out”.

Which mostly meant Judith having to carry Barbara, considering that she had flaunted before that she could raise both Damian and Dick together, and Laurel was pretty sure that Barbara weighted much less than those two combined.

Now the fact that Babs was Dick’s ex-girlfriend and from a stolen conversation Laurel had caught, that she didn’t like the thought of Judith and Dick together, might be a bit of a problematic, but her brain was just a bit too optimistic to think that thoroughly, comforted by the girl-talk, Jason’s call and Babs joining them.

“I mean… I seriously don’t want to bother…”.

“Babs, just get your ass there, in extreme cases, we’ll get my landlord to fix the elevator, because that shit has been broken for like a month, and let me tell you, I can’t keep continuing on hauling my grocery stuff for two whole plans!” that got a light laugh from Babs “… and by the way, you should have my address”.

“Be there in fifteen minutes”.

As Laurel turned after she finished the phone conversation, she found both Pearl and Judith staring at her, although it was obvious that they had listened on the whole conversation.

Not that Laurel was somehow quiet when answering a phone call.

There was a reason why her ‘office’ at the police station was the farthest from commissioner Gordon’s one.

“… wait who is Babs?” asked Pearl “… I can’t truly believe that you have even more friends who you have kept away from me!”.

“She is Jim’s daughter, Pearl!” replied Laurel, as she caught a bit of discomfort on Judith’s face and she cursed for not having consulted the girl before inviting Babs in “… you must have seen her around”.

“… oh, now I understand why she is coming over!” joked Pearl as Laurel pushed herself near Judith, lightly shoving her with her elbow, as the girl did the same in an obvious childish manner “… need to check on Laurel not becoming a vigilante for the night”.

“I could never be a vigilante” shot back Laurel.

“You have the anger issues and the recklessness”.

“Laurel? And anger issues?!” Judith asked with a great confusion in her eyes.

“Judith, my dear… you haven’t ever seen her almost slamming the printer against the wall because it wasn’t working!” explained Pearl, much to Laurel’s annoyance “… and on this happy note, I am going to piss”.

To which Laurel replied with a middle finger.

And then turned to Judith, once they were alone.

“Sorry for like… I mean… you did agree to this because you didn’t want to be surrounded by people and suddenly, I am inviting everyone…” Laurel lowered lightly her eyes on the pavement, as Judith pushed her hand underneath her chin to make her meet her eyes.

No judgement in them.

“Honestly, this is your house, so you are the one who call the shots” commented the girl, as Laurel continued on holding her gaze, trying to prove the truth of her words “… and I am honestly… I am having fun… I just… am worried about Babs, like I mean… I don’t think that she has the best opinion about me”.

“In that case, she just has to get to know you better to know that you are as lethal as a teddy bear!”.

“… which means that I am good at slipping in beside you and cutting your throat open, when you least expect it?”.

“I do think that we have a different opinion on what teddy bears are” Laurel allowed that small sarcasm before going back to being utterly serious “… if you are in any way uncomfortable you just have to tell me, don’t worry about my own or Babs’ comfort… if you are at unease, we can…”.

“I don’t want to ruin the party” Judith’s voice was light and fuck if Laurel wanted to hug her.

Oh, wait she could.

Judith was surprised, but gently leaned on the hug, which was badly interrupted by Pearl trying to join in, much to the amusement of the two other girls.

“Please tell me that you have washed your hands!”.

“I am not a heathen, Laurel!” and then, offended, Pearl pushed herself on the sofa, filling another glass to the brim, meanwhile Laurel gently bumped against Judith to regain her attention.

“If you aren’t comfortable, just tell me and I’ll kick them all out!” as Judith went to protest, Laurel grew more serious.

Judith’s uneasiness definitely was washed away with the laughter that followed.

And then her phone beeped again signaling that Babs had arrived.

Judith and Laurel got down to meet her, since the whole situation must have been already too overcrowded for Babs, who was waiting for them inside at the end of the stairs, with a bag on her knees that she immediately offered to Laurel.

“A few things to thank you for the hospitality… and cookies for Santa…” she mumbled, before taking in Judith, who looked as intimidated as one could be, till Babs just reached out lightly to her “… I prefer if you give me a piggyback, it’s more comfortable for both of us and it makes me remember the good time when I wasn’t heavy enough to break my father’s back”.

To Laurel’s shock, Judith laughed out loudly at the comment and followed Babs’ instruction, meanwhile the girl showed Laurel how to undo her wheelchair to carry it.

Laurel then moved to balance the bag in her arms, definitely weighting more than ‘cookies for Santa’.

But hey, she wouldn’t question more alcohol.

Once Babs was secured on Judith’s back, the girl reassuring her that she had whole years of carrying Damian up and down for whole flight of stairs (‘and let me tell you, that little shit, kicked me in the kidneys each time I went too slow for his taste’) they moved forward with Judith up first and Laurel down to make sure to control the situation better.

But without crowding Babs, because Laurel could partially understand that this situation wasn’t the best.

She would have seriously reprimanded her landlord for being a lazy scumbag.

She would have even allowed Jason to threaten him a bit.

Once they arrived at the door of their apartment, Laurel opened the chair again and Judith settled Babs in it, allowing her to compose herself properly, before they knocked to signal to Pearl to open the door, just for her to immediately ambush Barbara.

“Listen… we aren’t letting you in, till you promise to convince your father to give us all a raise”.

“Pearl!” Laurel reprimanded her, but Babs just wheeled past Pearl, eyeing the bottle of champagne on the dining room table.

“… just if you share the champagne” and then sent a small look to a very confused Laurel “… we can eat the cookies by the way, I didn’t make them because God knows what I could put in them, but… dad bought them from a bakery nearby, so they should be good”.

“Let me get a plate for them” commented Laurel, meanwhile she assured that Pearl didn’t bully anymore Babs, who instead seemed to immediately match her energy, much to Judith’s amusement, who followed her friend in the kitchen.

“You know… this is actually… kind of cool” she commented lightly, as Laurel pushed the box of cookies out of the bag, noticing that there were a few wrapped up gifts, and just as her hands reached out, too curious to resist, a shout was heard:

“And don’t try opening the gifts, Laurel!”.

At that, her hands retreated and as she turned around to move back in the dining room, finding a smiling Judith, following her.

“I am going to lose my mind by the end of the night”.

“Well, you are the one that invited us, after all”.

* * *

By the end of the night, she actually didn’t lose her mind, although the newly formed friendship between Pearl and Babs was a true threat to her self-esteem, but Judith definitely looked very comfortable and she and Babs had been more than civil towards each other.

After they had finished Babs’ cookies, they had moved to actually playing a few board games, just because Laurel was that kind of old woman, inside.

Laurel won at Monopoly, but got her ass badly beaten by Babs at Scramble, just for Judith to come for both their asses at Uno, meanwhile Pearl complained about them teaming up against her, making them effectively try to do that.

By the end of the last turn of cards, Christmas was a few minutes away, enough to make Pearl rush for her phone, shooting a rather direct look to a confused Laurel.

‘Don’t you have also the ‘who will send the first “merry Christmas” ‘ challenge in your family?”.

“Don’t really have a family, anymore” muttered lightly Judith, but still got her phone from her coat, meanwhile Babs just shrugged aware that probably her father wouldn’t have read whatever message she sent till the following morning, since he was following a few thugs of some B-series villain.

Babs had actually explained the whole situation to Laurel once they were alone in the kitchen:

‘They are so B-series, that Batman really said: “let me at least have Christmas’ Eve. Police handle it, please”, which will likely mean that if by midnight the thing isn’t solved I’ll have to work on Christmas’ Eve, God I am the one that deserves a raise’.

“I am pretty sure that me and my sister are in two completely different time zones” finished Laurel.

“… y’all are depressing”.

“… and what about you?” commented Judith, sending her a half-hearted annoyed look “… you are technically spending the night with us, willingly”.

“Don’t remind me of that”.

But they all ended up laughing about it.

And when midnight came around, they all hugged the Christmas out, wishing each other ‘merry Christmas’ a few too good many times as ‘Jingle Bells’ started playing on the TV, which they joined in laughing loudly and completely off tone.

And for the first time that night Laurel realized that it felt perfect.

She was missing Jason and Victoria like crazy, but she didn’t feel alone.

And she should consider that a victory.

She almost thought that moving to Gotham might not have been such a bad idea.

And everyone actually seemed to agree with her, since they basically just ended up spending the night over at Laurel’s, mostly because the girl doubted that any of them could drive back home, since although they weren’t in any way drunk, they had still drank a bit more than it was proper.

And in the end, Laurel had enough place for everyone.

Two would have slept in her bed, one in the guest room and finally one on the couch.

Which was immediately claimed by Pearl, since she had gotten quite attached to it.

Babs suggested that she took the bed in the guest room (‘I want to see if Jason has a Wonder Woman costume’ ‘Babs, I can tell you that he doesn’t, but I got him a matching Wonder Woman pajama’ ‘Listen… I can’t believe that you two are that couple’).

So, that left she and Judith to her own bed.

Laurel told her that she could sleep off on the floor, but Judith simply insisted that they shared the bed.

‘… although let me tell you, does Jason know that you are sleeping with me? Because like… I do think that you are an independent woman, but we were both trained in the League of Assassins and I would be sad to have to kill him for attacking me’.

‘I love how you have the confidence to say that you can kick Jason’s ass’.

‘Laurel, your boyfriend wears a bucket on his head… I could totally kick his ass’.

But eventually they settled down, after Laurel got a few clothes for each of the girls.

Babs looked extremely pleased by her collection of superheroes pajama, meanwhile Judith laughed loudly at Laurel’s flying squirrel onesie, and almost risked choking when the other girl explained that she had gotten a bat-themed one for Damian for Christmas.

‘I am going to send you so many photos when he finally puts it on’ she told Laurel, meanwhile the girl thought about whether she should start CPR or not ‘… oh Gosh, BRUCE’S REACTION WILL BE EPIC’.

Eventually Judith came down from that excitement and they managed to wish ‘goodnight’ to both Babs and Pearl, who was already asleep, and the truth was that it was barely 1 a.m. when they settled underneath the cover.

That’s what it meant being old.

As she was halfway through finishing brushing her teeth, meanwhile Judith changed in her room in total privacy, her phone showed Victoria’s ‘merry Christmas’, paired with a lot of emojis that brightened Laurel’s face, and she answered quickly snapping also a photo of her with the toothbrush between her teeth, thanking her for the gift.

‘The real one is actually coming soon’ muttered her sister ‘… I mean… I still have to find a box big enough for me…’.

‘Victoria, please don’t do what you did with that hamster in fifth grade’.

‘IT WASN’T MY FAULT! The teacher didn’t tell me about that!’.

‘Sometimes, I understand why we come from two completely different sperm donors’.

‘Sometimes, I understand why you are the Grinch’.

‘Miss you, little sis’.

‘Miss you, too, big sis’.

Then they wished each other ‘goodnight’ and Laurel gently knocked on the door to let Judith know that she was done.

The girl promptly replying that she could come in and Laurel honestly almost fell onto the bed, throwing her phone on the nighstand, much to Judith’s amusement.

And as she went to properly charge it, again the screen lighted up, signaling one more message.

Unknown number.

But she knew who it was.

‘First Christmas “together”, to many more, ‘Rel’.

* * *

Laurel and Judith got promptly woken up by Pearl jumping up and down their bed like a child at an hour that seemed too early in the morning, just for them both to discover that it was simply 10 a.m. in the morning and that both their phones were going off with all the Christmas ‘wishes’ they were receiving.

A few too many were from the Batfamily.

The one that stuck out was Stephanie commenting on how she was joining the fun next year.

‘Stephanie, if you come, you’ll have to bring your own bed’.

‘Good, me and Cass can just sleep on the ground, we are trained to do that’.

Well, she had 365 days to think how to solve all of this.

“… c’mon, Laurel! Get up and check out Santa’s gifts!” and when Laurel threw a pillow at her, she turned to Judith, who had kept to her side of the bed for the whole night, with her back turned from Laurel, meanwhile the other girl had inched closer, because her friend was a pure furnace “… Judith! Judith! Judith!”.

“I am murdering her” Judith mumbled, her whisper muffled by the pillow.

“Honestly, I’ll pay you” commented Laurel, but did raise her back lightly against the headboard “… just give us ten minutes of sleep to be able to think fully about gifts and not murder”.

“No, no, I literally have fifteen minutes to unpack my gifts and see the smile on your faces when you get yours, and then run back home and get my luggage, since apparently they cleared up all the flights, so I’ll be able to actually see my family at dinner!”.

“Oh, I am so happy for you!” muttered Laurel, moving to hug her, to hide a bit her sadness of not being able to do the same, but she had spent a lovely night with a few of the best newfound friends and she should focus on that, at least till the girls went out and she was alone with her feelings.

“Thank you” and then she pushed herself in order to get up and get Laurel up with her, much to her annoyance “… so get your ass up”.

And Laurel dug lightly her hands in Judith’s arm, a place that was safe for her to touch.

“… but I am not getting up… without you Judith!”.

“Brat!” muttered Judith, but eventually relented and got up, in her too small pajama with an obnoxious flannel print that made her seem annoyingly attractive.

They both moved to the kitchen, finding Babs already up and awake, looking as pristine as she had come, immediately asking for coffee to Laurel, who went in the kitchen trying to organize a small breakfast, meanwhile Judith tried to quiet down Pearl, and when Laurel appeared from the kitchen, she was ambushed by a gift being shoved in her arms.

“Mine first!” screamed Pearl, and Laurel couldn’t help but be amazed by all the wrapped up presents beneath her tree.

Since she had been a child, she hadn’t had such a lovely picture of Christmas.

Most of the times her mother would give them money, or she would leave the gifts wrapped to their governess, meanwhile she was off to whatever Christmas party she had been invited to, and as much as Laurel knew that mothers were allowed to have fun, she sometimes just hoped that she had something happier to remind her mother for.

And Christmas in general.

“Ahem… thank you, Pearl… but you didn’t have to get me anything” she was actually wondering when she had found the time to put the gifts underneath the tree, she had seen that Pearl’s bag being bigger than usual but…

“Shut up, and open it” and Laurel followed that order, finding out that Pearl had gotten her a lovely new pot “… the first idea was actually getting you a lifelong hot cocoa coupon from the place down the street at the station… but then I thought that maybe you’d prefer this, look all vintagey like you like”.

“… it’s lovely” it was truly, colored of a wonderful green that made the pot seem like it was made of Jade and the soft decoration of roses and sunflowers that made it seem delicate.

And frail.

So, clumsy Laurel put it down carefully on the small table in the dining room.

Before going to hug her friend, who just laughed loudly, before moving to get also Judith’s and Babs’ gifts, and the girls definitely looked as surprised as Laurel had been, but as they opened their small packages, they found a lovely handwritten note.

“A coupon” explained softly Pearl “… for a night out with him being the sober friend”.

“Best gift ever” commented Judith, meanwhile Babs just went for a hug.

Judith shoved the coupon back to Pearls’ hands, holding them gently.

“… the same goes for you… I am not… creative enough to write such a lovely idea, but from where I spent the last ten year, I learned how to make vows” she explained lightly, his body becoming as high strung as it could be “… I vow to be there for thee when you shall be too filled with alcohol”.

“Well, that was wonderfully weird” muttered Pearl, but it was evident that she was moved by that, meanwhile Babs did promise to try to get a raise for her from her father, leaving the girls all giggling together.

Laurel gave her the gift lastly, having gotten her a cute pin B99 themed, which made a huge smile appear on the girl’s face, as she hugged back and forth her friend.

Then Pearl had to bold out, and the girls didn’t hold her back, everyone completely understanding what it meant to finally see their family again.

After she left, they did have breakfast calmly, Laurel even getting out another confection of ‘panettone’, which Babs ate voraciously, meanwhile Judith lightly cherished Pearl’s coupon, carefully slipping it in her coat.

It felt good and normal to have mornings like this.

But Laurel was almost scared of that.

Of when it would all end, and she would be left alone with her memory.

Technically every other day she would have had her work to keep hefocused, but she was on holiday leave till the 27th, so she was definitely left alone with her mind for too long.

And then a light thrill came from the door and Laurel moved to get it, thinking that it might have been Pearl having forgotten something-

But she wouldn’t have ever been able to guess who it was behind the door, waiting for her.

The whole Batfam was there.

“… are you here to start singing Christmas carols?” she mumbled, once she got over the initial shock.

“Believe me you don’t want us to” commented lightly Tim, as Judith joined Laurel by her side and Babs did the same, although she didn’t look any way surprised by the presence of the merry people on Laurel’s threshold.

And Laurel could have sworn that she saw Dick’s face paling at the sight of the two.

Well, also considering the fact that they had actually gotten along quite well, Laurel would have been scared too, if she had been Dick.

“… are we allowed inside or are we going to converse with each other on the door?” Damian caught their attention, and Steph lightly shushed him with a slap at his shoulder.

“Ahem… I mean… you can come inside” Laurel muttered lightly sure that she didn’t have a choice on the matter “… but like… if you aren’t going to sing me Christmas carols, what are you doing here?”.

“They are being their usual busy bodies selves” muttered lightly Babs, as Laurel found the whole Batfamily in her dining room and honestly, she didn’t know how they all managed to fit inside, she was just glad that they did, with Tim, Steph and Damian on her sofa.

Dick had plopped down on the floor, meanwhile Cass had claimed the armchair’s handle, as Judith sit down beside her, their stances being something out of a gangster movie, meanwhile Duke settled onto the small table, much to Laurel’s protests that went unheard.

What she hadn’t noticed, meanwhile they all stood on the threshold, aisde from the matching ugly Christmas sweaters, was the fact that they had various bags in their hands, which prompted Laurel to think the worst.

Gifts.

She could be the sole idiot who saw gifts as bad things.

Well, they weren’t bad things, but she couldn’t help but feel like this seemed like a Christmas intervention.

There was a reason if she had turned down their invites at their Christmas’ Eve dinner.

Just because she was Jason’s girlfriend, it didn’t mean that they should feel somehow responsible of her.

Although she appreciated their company.

It almost felt like she had a family.

Which… wasn’t possible… since they were Jason’s family.

And it would have been a mess if they ever broke up.

Who got Damian?

The poor kid had already so much trauma.

The fact was that her family life had been always imprinted on what Laurel could do for either her mother or sister, so to get all this gentleness for free was strange for her, in a way that left her suspicious and made her wonder whether this was just a ploy to get something out of her.

She was aware that the Batkids weren’t anything like that, but then that intensified her other thought: that she wasn’t enough for them.

Laurel always had to see something good happening in her life and immediately go ‘fuck you, this will end in flames’.

‘You are self-sabotaging yourself, Laurel’ would have said her renown therapist.

Not that it would have helped her in any way, since she just wasn’t convinced about that.

But Damian had definitely a whole different approach to this, as he noticed that she had been silent, meanwhile they were all exchanging their best wishes.

“… yeah, this is an ambush, Laurel” he muttered, meanwhile Stephanie tried to hush him again, to no avail “… hey! I thought we all agreed on that!”.

“You didn’t have to”.

Maybe they thought that she was pathetic because she had nobody to spend the Christmas with.

“… but you see, we actually wanted to” commented lightly Tim, catching Laurel completely off guard, since she hadn’t expected him to speak out “… like we honestly just thought of crashing at your house to share Christmas gifts!”.

“What about Bruce?” not that she wanted the big man in her apartment.

She was sure they wouldn’t have fit in it anymore.

“… coming” muttered lightly Cass, quickly answering to Laurel’s shocked gaze “… sleeping… crashed and slept…”.

“That seems you on Tuesday” muttered lightly Judith, much to Laurel’s complete embarrassment, and Damian tried to ask: ‘what Judith meant’, just to be shushed by Babs this time, who had wheeled by his side of the sofa and caught Laurel’s eyes.

She probably must have understood all the feelings that were going through Laurel’s mind, since she had been in a similar situation, back when she had first entered the Batfamily.

And she sent her a soft and reassuring smirk.

“Believe me, resistance is futile” she mouthed lightly.

“And we want to open gifts!” shot up Stephanie, to which they all agreed.

And Laurel thought that maybe just maybe… she could think that this could go well.

“Ok, ok!” agreed Laurel “… I am going to get a bit of ‘panettone’ for you, assholes”.

“Hide it, Laurel!” shouted Babs, trying to effectively stop her friend from sharing the precious treat with the others, just for everyone to start laughing.

And then the exchanging of gifts started.

Some gifts were ridiculous, but Laurel felt that they were all heartfelt, even morethe ones she received.

Which made her shed a few tears.

Dick and Judith had actually teamed up (Laurel had said something about ‘#shipgoals’ and much to everyone’s surprise Babs had just been like ‘you are Jason wear matching pajamas’) and aside from the skincare products she had picked out personally (which were very welcome) she had gotten a nice collection of various teas.

‘Alfred helped us’ Dick explained ‘… he said they are perfect for beginners but that he also slipped in a few of Jason’s favorites’.

She had been halfway through hugging Dick to thank him, when Damian had pushed a slender packet on her knees, since she was sat down by Duke (fuck the dining table), wearing the onesie she had gotten him, since he had been forced to try it on by Stephanie, although she had quite the inkling he liked it.

‘My turn, since Grayson’s sucked!’.

‘Hey!’ shouted Dick, meanwhile he started unwrapping Laurel’s gifts for him (a mixture of gym tools that Jason had actually suggested to her) ‘… and it was also Judith’s!’.

‘Yeah, he didn’t say anything about me, because he knows I can kick his ass!’ protested Judith, just to be lightly pushed away from the armchair by Dick who forced her on the floor beside him, gently pushing a hand behind her to steady her, but Laurel could see the light blush on both their cheeks.

But her attention was snatched back by Damian’s gift.

She thought it might be a coupon, although the packet was larger, but the fact that it was flat made difficult to understand what it truly was, till it was opened.

And when it was opened, Laurel honestly thought that she would have never guessed what it was.

It was a painting.

Made with charcoal to elegantly highline the figure on the recycled paper.

It was a painting of her.

And a sole look at it made Laurel feel so pretty.

She had known that Damian had a passion for art, but she hadn’t thought he was so talented, and she must have been too taken by surprise to properly word a ‘thank you’, because suddenly a hand was waved on her face and Damian promptly asked with a tone that went very quickly from ‘anxious’ to ‘pretentious’.

“… do you like it?”.

Like it was a small word, for how she felt for Damian making her seem so pretty.

She would have hung it, beside the ‘Pietà’ poster in her room.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen” she muttered honestly, raising her eyes filled with tears to meet Damian’s, and the boy breathed out in relief, allowing a small hug from the girl that complimented again his style.

‘I made one for you and Judith… and Cass and Stephanie…” he muttered lightly “… girls are easier to draw…”.

She doubted that it was for that, but Laurel just indulged that explanation and softly whispered in the boy’s ear:

“Thank you for making me feel pretty, Damian”.

It was useless to say the boy was as red as a tomato and Stephanie teased him loudly, meanwhile Cass pushed another gift on Laurel’s lap, signaling to herself first and then Duke, who settled his eyes on Laurel’s face.

“Is it going to explode?” she asked the guy beside her.

“You literally live with the Red Hood, hasn’t he given you the survival mode talk?”.

“You are right, it isn’t tickling” she joked and then went to open the pretty package, definitely Duke’s working, since Stephanie had told her that she and Bruce literally wrapped themselves in wrapping paper each time they tried to join in the ‘wrap-up’ fest.

The discarded wrapping paper revealed a pretty pair of earrings, golden and thick in a way that was extremely bold, and Laurel had always wanted to try but hadn’t ever dared to.

But she remembered watching them at the mall back when she went there with Judith.

“You are stalkers” she muttered, but did thrown herself to hug Duke and Cass, careful to her discomfort but the girl definitely leaned in.

“That happens with our line of work” muttered lightly Duke, meanwhile Cass suggested she tried them on.

“I don’t care what they look like on me, they are perfect because they came from you” she muttered lightly, getting a shove from Duke who commented ‘about how sappy she was’, but she didn’t care.

It was more than obvious that they had her wrapped around their fingers.

Then came forward Stephanie and Tim, their gifts were separate but somehow matched themselves, since Tim had gotten her a bookish themed power-bank, meanwhile Stephanie had gotten her a new phone cover with a favorite quote from one of her favorite books.

Jason must have helped them out a bit.

And honestly Laurel, who had spent a Christmas in Dubai, never felt better.

And more loved.

But what if…

What if it was pity.

Before she could go through with that thought Babs came forward with her last gift, pushing two bags in her arms, a smaller package that she suggested she opened first and then a bigger one that was carefully moved onto the table with a reverence that made Laurel question if that was seriously an explosive one.

The smaller packet was a gift from Jim and Barbara, a set of kitchen tools for sweets, which made Laurel laugh loudly, meanwhile Babs explained that they had both loved the muffins she had gotten them, so they just wanted to encourage their culinary talents.

‘… you all want me just for my ability in the kitchen’.

‘We all want you because Jason seems happier since you are together’.

Oh, the big absentee.

She was able to hide quickly her grimace at that.

After she gave Babs back a gift for her and her father, a whole collection of board games, mystery themed, she finally got her hands on the huge package.

It was both light and heavy, as in it was heavier than a normal gift, but it was still lighter than anything dangerous.

‘Ahem… this is too much’ she muttered as her hands dug lightly underneath the wrapping paper, wondering whether she should treasure this moment or just get on with it ‘… the kitchen tools are ador…’.

As she got through the wrapping paper, Laurel discovered that it hid the computer she had been watching and saving the money for.

She immediately turned to Babs.

“I can’t accept it” she breathed out, because she knew that the computer was quite expensive and Babs was actually still studying in college and struggling and… “… Babs, you already got me a gift…”.

“Well, this one isn’t properly mine… I mean… I did get to download a few programs for your own comfort, but I am not the one who paid it” her eyes were malicious as she shot Laurel a knowing look, as if there was some catch to take.

And then Laurel understood.

“Still too much” and she made to push back the gift in Babs’ hands, just for the computer to basically light up through its box, signaling what looked like an incoming call and Laurel just shot the redhead a confused look but the girl suggested she simply took the call, and a quick glance to the room showed they all agreed with her.

And they were all looking at Laurel expectantly.

Maybe it was Bruce contacting them.

But the face on the screen was definitely younger.

And prettier for Laurel.

“Hey, ‘Rel!” Jason shouted as he adjusted on the focus of the camera “… are you seeing me? Oh, by the way nice Merida pajama, truly a touch of class…”.

“You are… you” very eloquent, congratulations.

“… yeah, no tricks, but we have something like five minutes, don’t we Babs?” and the girl beside you showed actually four fingers, which got an ugly grimace to appear on Jason’s unshaved face and fuck the stubble.

He looked pretty.

And although he was simply pixels, it felt good to watch his face again.

And to be watched.

“Christmas miracle?” he muttered catching Laurel off guard.

“More like Christmas hassle, but I am happy to see you again” Laurel shot back, before gesturing to the stumble “… the stubble suits you”.

“Oh, it does?” well, wasn’t she blushing.

“Jason! Damian is in the room!” commented Dick, meanwhile Stephanie immediately moved to close Damian’s ears, almost getting her arm twisted by the midget.

“Yadda yadda, Dickie” muttered Jason, his eyes shifting to where Dick’s voice came from and Laurel moved to lightly gesture for everyone to come beside her, meanwhile Duke insisted that ‘Jason probably didn’t want to see their ugly faces’.

“No, excuses, I also don’t want to see his ugly face but here we are!” Laurel simply commented, before turning to look at Jason on the screen, his soft smile completely liquifying her inner organ “… thank you”.

“You needed a new computer” he simply muttered as if it was obvious.

And Laurel was definitely glad for that.

But she also was glad for him giving her that moment.

For allowing her to feel loved.

“… not for that solely” she muttered and shot a small look at the Batfamily, who was trying to set itself up so they all could fit on the screen and Jason’s eyes lightly softened, even though he wouldn’t have admitted it “… merry Christmas, Jason Todd! To many more where I can hug you instead of a screen”.

“Merry Christmas, Laurel Cellini! To many more where I can kiss your pretty lips, instead of staring at them!”.

“Little Wing! You are all grown up!”.

“Dick, I swear to fucking God that if I have to spend the next two minutes hearing your shit… I’ll…”.

A knock came from the door and Judith went to take it, since she was the nearest and once, she opened it, reassured by a familiar voice, Bruce Wayne with a gift under each arms, appeared in her threshold and strangely Laurel didn’t feel in any way intimidated.

It must be the red Santa Claus hat on the top of his hea.

“I am not late, right?”.


	4. ... Be Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Year’s Eve and its gala are definitely not ready for what is coming to them.
> 
> And neither is Laurel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N): Hello there, lovelies!
> 
> THE FINAL CHAPTER IS FINALLY HERE!
> 
> Oh Gosh, oh Gosh, oh Gosh, I did it, I finished this series and finally made Jason and Laurel meet again... maybe just... maybe...
> 
> I wanted to thank the people that have stuck with me and this series, who have given me feedback and supported me through my darkest of times, thank you for loving Laurel and Jason as much as me!
> 
> In the meanwhile if you want to support my work with a small comment to reblogging this and writing something, I’d truly appreciate it, because I have just been truly truly tired this period, so any comment would cheer me up greatly.
> 
> And definitely push me to write more!
> 
> Have a nice reading!

_“And isn't it just so pretty to think_

_All along there was some_

_Invisible string_

_Tying you to me?_

_Ooh”_

[ **‘Invisible String’ by Taylor Swift** ](https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuFnpmGwg5k)

_**“Aren’t those books already perfectly adjusted?”.** _

The voice startled Laurel.

She was indeed adjusting the books on her side, meanwhile she waited for the screen to stop beeping and the facetime call to start, revealing a white-haired man with a distinct moustache and glasses that framed his eyes.

Willis, her bodyguard.

Although he hadn’t been that for a bit less than ten years.

Not that this meant that he had been distant from her during all that time, constantly supporting Laurel, even after he had been fired after their fifteenth summer spent together.

Almost as a family.

‘What good is a bodyguard, when what my daughter needs, is somebody that will take care of her image in the medias?’ her mother had explained when Laurel had asked her why she had fired Willis, although he had been constantly loyal to her and helped her daughters, whenever she wasn’t there.

Willis had still tried every way to keep in contact with Laurel, both through the phone and visiting her at home, whenever she was on American and English ground, since the man actually was British and had moved to America to follow a friend.

He had kept up with everything happening in the girls’ life, being there for Victoria’s birthdays and for Laurel’s graduation.

A photo of them stood proudly inside of Laurel’s wardrobe, alongside a few of her childhood with Victoria and a few friends that she had collected in college, a life that constantly reminded her of what was outside of Gotham.

And sometimes she felt too nostalgic for those thoughts, although by now Laurel found herself looking at them with less bitterness and more comfortableness, knowing and understanding that those two parts of her life didn’t have to be necessarily separated.

And one step forward was contacting Willis.

_“… you know how I am”_ Laurel shot back, as she readjusted in her spinning chair, meanwhile she petted down her hair in the low ponytail she wore, comfortable and elegant, considering that Willis was wearing a tailored suit simply for a videocall _**“… inevitably and impeccably a perfectionist”.**_

_**“But I suppose that your bed is still unmade”.** _

And he was right.

Because the bed in front of her was thoroughly unmade, although Laurel swore that it was more due to laziness than her inability to maintain order in the apartment.

And considering that her neat freak of a roommate had been away from a little bit less than two months, Laurel thought that she was handling this quite well, although she refused to look at the kitchen cardboard, considering that she was used to Robin(s) coming in and taking what they wanted out of it.

Laurel should honestly start charging them for their nightly pit-stops.

_**“Just a detail”**_ she replied, swatting off lightly the camera, but kept her shoulders higher in a way that obviously pleased Willis, because he shot her a light smirk, bringing a cup of tea to his lips, considering that he was halfway through the tea hour, meanwhile Laurel had just woken up, late, right in time for breakfast _“… passed a nice Christmas with the Queen’s blessings?”._

_**“Sometimes I regret teaching you sarcasm”**_ he muttered, once the teacup left his lips “… but I did pass a nice Christmas, darling, what about you? Did your lover like the first edition that took me three whole months to find?”.

**First of all, she was blushing till the tip of her ears.**

Laurel knew from experience that there weren’t many things that could go unnoticed to Willis.

He always said that it was because he had been in the army, secret services and special agent.

_‘Just admit that you are James Bond!’_ had shouted Victoria to him, once he had noticed that she had stolen a few sweets from the kitchen, as the mentioned ten-year-old child threw said sweets to him, meanwhile Laurel laughed at the annoyed expression on the man’s face.

**“… it isn’t for a lover”.**

_“Well, it isn’t certainly for you”_ muttered the man, as Laurel’s eyes shifted on the keyboard of her new computer.

It had taken her a few days to get used to it, and it definitely worked better than her previous one, and Barbara’s softwares made it run even smoother, allowing her to actually video-chat with Jason, for a few minutes daily.

**“… you never liked Dumas that much”.**

Not only nothing didn’t get pass Willis, but he knew both Victoria and Laurel like the back of his own hands, so it wasn’t possible for such a thing to go unnoticed to him, who hadn’t solely protected the two girls, **but brought them up in his own way** , listening to them and gently encouraging them towards their interests.

_“… maybe I am just interested in giving him another chance”._

And if there was one thing that Laurel had certainly learned was that she could only deny deny deny, till he eventually left the subject.

But as always, Willis had been strangely protective with Laurel’s boyfriends and girlfriends.

So, Laurel knew there wasn’t any hope that he would have backed down easily, on such a matter.

_“Highly doubt that, darling”_ he muttered, annoyance obvious in his words, but a brighter and teasing smile appeared on his face “… although it is a shame that you don’t like _‘The Count of Montecristo’_ **a beautiful story about vengeance and the price we pay for it** ”.

_“Didn’t know that we were going to have a book-club meeting”_ Laurel’s own smirk was teasing.

_**“… didn’t think that you would lie to me and Victoria about your love life”**_ he shot back, effectively hitting her and her reaction wasn’t hidden by the hand she brought to her mouth “… who is this gentleman that has made you beg your old man of finding you a first edition of _‘The Count of Montecristo_ ’? Or is it a lady? _But you were always less discreet with girls…”._

**Honestly everything in Laurel was aching to tell Willis about Jason.**

But at the same time, she was still a bit too superstitious to admit that everything with Jason was going well.

**Even more because of the fact that she hadn’t seen him in such a long time,** and she preferred for their status to be clear, before she confessed to her old bodyguard that she was in love with the Red Hood.

And the fact that Willis used to be in the army was also a thing that she had to take in account, considering that he had threatened every boy or girl she had ever brought to him or whose name she had pronounced in front of him.

**Laurel doubted that it would have made Jason run away.**

But she also was scared of what those two would have done if they ever met.

Jason with his **_‘could care less’_** **attitude** and Willis with his **flamboyant English indifference**.

She would have paid good money to assist at such a meeting…

… behind a glass window.

_**“… it is somebody”**_ she decided to mutter “… but it is complex, I haven’t… given them the gift, yet, since we haven’t spent Christmas, together”.

That seemed to completely settle down in Willis’ mind and he looked halfway through erupting in rage and badly trying to stop himself from doing so, knowing how easily **rage and loud voices** made Laurel flinch.

He hadn’t ever screamed to Laurel, unless he was damnably worried, since he had noticed that the girl would inevitably push him back, obeying him but **with an empty look** in her face and **flinch-y movements** that made him want to hug the child and tell her that everything would be alright.

He did control him, but he didn’t hold back on the threats:

_**“If this person… is mistreating you… Laurel…”.** _

**“… you did teach me how to punch a man, Willis”** she reminded him “… and it isn’t that way… we just… **we have different schedules and lives and we are slowly trying to make everything come together** , which… is much more difficult than you might believe”.

_“Well, he must be a tool not to want to spend time with you, my dear love_ ” Laurel definitely was halfway through laughing for Willis’ reddish complexion, as he examined carefully the words that exited his mouth “… but I’ll trust your judgement, in the end, **you are the heartbreaker, usually** ”.

That much was true.

**Laurel’s relationships in most cases had ended up for her own decision.**

_This didn’t mean that she didn’t have her own love delusions_ , from both men and women (although the former group had definitely scared her a lot more to approach), but it was always her who immediately recognized when things when they stopped working.

Again, she didn’t have that much of experience in relationships, having had just three love stories during her college years, one of which had lasted badly a month, before Laurel and her lover decided it was better for them to stay as friends.

_**“… thank you, Willis”.** _

_“You are welcome, my dear”_ he simply retorted sipping lightly again his teacup and Laurel did drink a huge gulp of her hot cocoa, feeling a bit less guilty of having withhold such information from the people that she cherished the most.

In a month it would be officially one year since she had first moved in Gotham and, in a few days, it would be the New Year.

Willis did proceed to ask about her plans for the New Year’s Eve, happy of having known that she spent a lovely Christmas’ Eve with a few friends and Laurel was able to talk to him more openly about Judith, Pearl and Barbara, although she left out obviously the parts that she wasn’t allowed to share.

_“Nothing glamorous honestly…”_ she had actually thought of celebrating the New Year at the station, since it was one of the worst nights for Gotham, considering the fireworks, drunkards and obvious lunatics in costumes _“… what about you? I thought that you would have stayed in England and party up eight hours in advance!”._

_**“Actually, I am back in America”**_ he muttered lightly _“… helping a friend and all that shit”._

_**“I love that now that I am legally allowed to drink, you are legally allowed to swear in front of me” that**_ got him to flip her off _“… so, that means that you are watching the New York’s ball go down?”._

_**“If I am not already in bed, you know that I am growing old”.** _

Laurel doubted it, since although Willis was old enough to be her grandfather, he was definitely more alive than many of the men that she had been nearby in the latest days.

Since she was a child, he had been as strong as he was back in the army, teaching Laurel and Victoria a few self-defense tricks that had come to both of them handy.

_“… I’ll send you my best wishes, meanwhile I am trying to stop the police station to be set on fire”_ Laurel joked, but immediately became serious once Willis’ face scrunched up a strange grimace and confused expression.

_“… I thought you worked in a school”_ his voice was evidently worried _**“… not in a police station”.**_

_“They gave my teaching position to somebody else”_ she explained quickly, truly understanding how much time had passed and regretting not having let Willis know about everything that had changed in her life.

**Willis hadn’t been happy of her moving to Gotham** , mostly because he knew that it was a dangerous city, but he also held some kind of distrust towards the city that didn’t come from the high crime rates, but for a more personal reason that he wouldn’t share with his ward.

**And Laurel didn’t push for it.**

**And Willis didn’t push for her to change her mind.**

_“… I found another job at the police station, as a secretary and accepted it, seeing that I already had moved there, and you know that mom would have been annoyed and grinning from one side to the other if I had told her that my attempt to get as far away as humanly possible from her had failed”._

**She knew that she was definitely rambling in self-defense,** knowing perfectly that Willis didn’t approve of her choice, although he wouldn’t have ever admitted to her face, not wanting to ruin her life, as he knew her mother had done so many times.

_“… I have been working there…”._

_**“Didn’t consider finding another job?”**_ Willis’ face was wielded in a neutral expression, that Laurel also held in response, having learned it directly from him _“… not that the one you have isn’t alright, but… let me tell you… I just wish for you to be safe…”._

**“I am”.**

Laurel didn’t think that she could be in any way safer, considering that she had half a family of vigilantes hanging around her apartment at all time, and that she slept with one of the strongest antiheroes of the city, that was known for being quite trigger happy when the people closest to him were in danger.

_“I don’t want to fight with you on this, Laurel”_ Willis had never wanted to fight with Laurel and never had the heart to reprimand her truly.

**With Victoria he was completely different.**

She was stubbornly annoying when she wanted to and openly challenged Willis, recognizing in him an antagonistic figure to her mother, which meant she obviously had to establish some kind of dominance on the older man.

Each time Willis reprimanded Victoria it was his way of saying: _‘be fucking careful, idiot’_ and Victoria answered just by making him worry more to tell him _that she could handle herself_ but knew that he would always have her back.

Laurel was completely different from Victoria in that matter.

She was extremely sensitive and even more stubborn than Victoria, but unlike her sister she had always had **so many things stolen from her** , that Willis didn’t honestly have the heart to try to take more from her, although he had his own tough love towards her.

“… I’ll just ask you to avoid putting yourself in harm’s way”.

Laurel was glad that the bruise on her nose was practically gone, so she simply nodded and _swore solemnly to the man that she wouldn’t have put herself in harm’s way._

_**“I don’t believe it in the slightest”**_ Willis’ expression was annoyedly sweet, but he let also this argument go, as he told her about the few things he had planned to do once in America, visiting her was on the list and they both tried to find a day that would allow them to make it happen.

**She trusted Willis to keep his oath of coming to see her more than Victoria’s,** although her sister had kept on talking with her through the phone.

The Christmas gig had been amazing, and she had been asked to join a new TV series, for which she was shooting a pilot episode to see if it was interesting enough to be developed further.

_“… your sister has been annoyingly cheery as of lately”_ it was Willis’ way of saying that **he was happy for Victoria’s career** “… always thought that she should have done better following her pianist talent, but I guess that **neither of you ever listened to me** ”.

_**“You wanted us to eat porridge at breakfast, it all started back then”.** _

_“Sorry, Mrs. Cellini for wanting you to grow up healthy and strong like me”_ he was obnoxiously teasing her, and Laurel lightly covered the camera as she laughed loudly **“… hey, be more respectful towards your elders, little girl!”.**

**“… you have one foot in your tomb” she** replied lightly, getting again flipped off, as the man finished his tea _“… so I am glad to see you before you eventually depart from us all…”._

_**“Eat shit, Laurie, eat shit!”**_ he shot back _“… and on this wonderful note, I have to let you know that I sadly will have to leave you, somebody is calling me, but I am glad we could set up this whole thing…bloody technology and all”._

_“I’ll have you know that the bloody technology is the best thing ever”_ she commented annoyedly but did smile at Willis waving at the camera _**“… see you soon, Billy-Willis! Don’t be a stranger!”.**_

_**“And neither you, Laurie!”**_ and as he waved also to the camera, the screen went black signaling the end of the videocall right as Laurel’s door opened, startling her to death, and Stephanie appeared behind it.

**Laurel didn’t remember having given her a copy of the keys.**

But Stephanie quickly solved all her questions as she eased Laurel from throwing her a dictionary, thinking she was an intruder:

**“Jason’s keys”** she muttered with her raised hands _“… left them at the Manor, to avoid losing them and I tried to ring in and call you for a whole hour, which made me wonder whether you had been kidnapped or worse… I did it in good faith, truly… and like…_ ** _the second option was … breaking down your door_** _”._

**“I do appreciate you not breaking down my door”** Laurel replied, although she still glared to Octavia _“… but I could have simply been busy… which I was… I was on a call”._

**“For work?”** asked the blondie _“… I thought you had still a few days off, which brings me to why I had to urgently get to you, beloved Laurel of mine”._

_“Flattery won’t get you a mug of hot cocoa”._

_**“But an invite to the Wayne exclusive galas, might?”.** _

Well, that did take Laurel by surprise more than Stephanie in her room.

**“… not really a gala girl”** she replied, moving to kitchen as Stephanie followed after her _“… but I’ll get your hot cocoa ready”._

_“Ok, but this isn’t any gala!”_ Stephanie insisted as she settled down on the kitchen counter beside Laurel, who made no effort to try to reprimand her _**“… it is a Wayne gala!”.**_

_“Ahem… thank you but you haven’t even told me when this gala will be?”._

She didn’t know whether she should feel more weirded out by Stephanie’s demand or how easily she was slowly getting used to the presence of a member of the Batfam in her apartment.

Maybe by the time Jason would be back from _‘his trip’,_ she would have thrown him out and taken Stephanie or Judith as her own roommates.

**“The 31st!”.**

It seemed obvious in Stephanie’s cheery tone as Laurel felt herself even less inclined to come to such an exclusive event on the most famous night of the year.

She would have bet that all the Gotham socialites would be there, which meant that Laurel would have had to endure to the harsh glares that came her way, since it was all she had known from the years she had spent waltzing in her mother’s shadows at her own galas and charity events.

**Being exposed to public laughter was definitely not a hobby she enjoyed.**

_“… ahem… I do think that I’ll have to spend it at the station”_ that was a wonderful excuse, because you doubted that anybody would have been against the utter and soulful importance of your own work duty _**“… but thank you I apprec…”.**_

_**“You could join in after the end of your turn”**_ pimped in immediately Stephanie and Laurel wondered whether she had tried out this discourse at the mirror or in front of Tim _“… Babs told us that Gordon usually doesn’t allow you to do the night shift, so you’ll just join us after the charity dinner”._

Yeah, her eating in public…

… not her favorite thing.

Not only people tended whatever she ate, but she had never learned how to eat properly in a ladylike way.

_“Stephanie… then let me get straight to the point… I… first of all… I didn’t get an invite”._

_**“Alfred will take care of it”**_ ok, she had definitely tried out this speech in front of a mirror _“… what do you think they sent me in for? To try to convince you, before we crowded you with various attempts till you eventually relented and accepted our offer”._

_**“You are that determined?”.** _

Although the family had spent the Christmas morning at Laurel’s apartment, **she still didn’t know why they wanted so desperately for her to be a so close to them** , _although she obviously thought that it had something to do with the fact that Jason was happier with her_ , **as Dick had confessed to her** , meanwhile they were in the kitchen to replenish a few more plates with delicacies, on Christmas’ day.

_‘…_ **_he just seems happier since he met you_ ** _… I mean… I noticed the change, but didn’t know what brought it on, then I saw the way you ached for each other at the Tales of Eros club…_ **_well, that gave me a lot of teasing material for Little Wing_ ** _’._

And yet, even if that was the main reason why they wanted to keep her on their side, Laurel definitely thought they put more effort than it would have taken, going out of their ways to make sure that she was always involved in her plans.

_**“… just because you are so stubborn!”**_ Stephanie’s reply was definitely obvious, as she smiled mildly to Laurel, definitely expecting this kind of resistance and yet probably a bit bummed by Laurel’s attitude.

**And the girl honestly would have loved to participate to the gala.**

**But galas like that just brought her insecurities to shine through.**

**She wouldn’t have enjoyed such a night.**

**And she would have ruined it for everybody else.**

_**“I don’t have a dress for such an occasion”**_ it was a ridiculous excuse, but Laurel simply turned away from Stephanie, who grabbed her mug and pushed the girl to face her again.

_“That can be easily solved”_ her smile shine so bright that the other girl definitely felt her lips quirk up lightly _“… as any other excuse you’ll come up with, because let me tell you… if my obvious persuasion won’t work… we’ll pass onto Judith… who has an experience in the whole torture business…”._

_**“… Judith loves me”**_ retorted quickly Laurel.

_**“But she dreads galas enough to drag you with her”**_ replied Stephanie and Laurel knew she was saying the truth.

_**“… I thought that you protected the freedom of each individuals, in America”**_ she shot back, taking Stephanie’s mug almost as a threat just for the girl to send her a pointed look.

_**“Not when I won’t get to gossip about rich people with my best friends!”.** _

_**“You have Cass”**_ Laurel muttered, as she put the mug back in her hands _“… who, by the way I like much more than you”._

_**“… just because she doesn’t overcrowd you”.** _

_**“… and neither walks in my house without a notice, effectively startling me…”**_ now she was definitely pushing against Stephanie’s hold _“… and she doesn’t try to force me in joining a gala night…”._

_**“That is because she is our emergency plan”.** _

_“… I don’t want to know what that entails”._

_**“Kidnapping, mostly”.** _

_“… honestly… I think that by now I should be less surprised of your methods”_ and of the fact that she could never win any argument against anyone from that Batfamily _“… I’ll think about the gala thing, and this isn’t me saying_ ** _‘yes’_** _to you… I am just too exhausted to properly handle you right now”._

_“Good, because in two days we have our scheduled appointment for a manicure”._

Laurel was glad of not having a mug in her hands, because the surprise utterly startled her.

_**“… I literally…”.** _

_“I’ll send you all the details”_ muttered Stephanie before Laurel could completely catch up to the fact that Stephanie had basically set her up, before she even came to ask about whether she’d be joining the gala or not.

Which obviously meant Laurel had no chance to back off right now.

_**“… see you there on the 29th!”**_ and before Laurel could properly come up with a reply for the blond vigilantes the girl was off through the window of her kitchen.

Well, it was a good thing that her call with Willis had ended up.

**Now, she had to find a way to avoid a mental breakdown before the 31st.**

* * *

As Steph had told her, **the invitation for the gala had come her way that same afternoon** , meanwhile she was halfway through her third rewatch of ‘ _Criminal Minds’_ , in solely that month.

**And she had had to straight up admit to herself that either she found a believable excuse to get out of this or a dress that would have looked nicely on her body, without attracting too much attention.**

_Not many in Gotham knew who Laurel Cellini was, but they certainly knew her mother._

So, she preferred not to be involved in any scandal or to even attract enough attention for the paps, since she had a whole girlhood of running away from them, meanwhile she was questioned about her mother’s plans and her own.

It was bad enough that her Christmas gig to help less-fortunate children had been _**titled ‘As Generous As Her Own Mother, Laurel Cellini A True Heir To Estelle Cel’.**_

She had sent the title to Victoria, who had just sent back a video of her almost falling down the bed, for her heavy and loud laughter.

**Laurel had ditched sunny California to be able to escape her mother’s shadow and grasp.**

And she wanted to so desperately, keeping her own small dreams to herself, alongside everything that was slowly happening in her life.

If Jason didn’t change his mind, she would soon be having a significant other in her life.

She seemed to also be very very welcomed in his family, which she had to admit was a nice feeling after having been isolated from her own for such a long time.

And she had friends who had been blowing up her phone since she had given them the new news that she had been sent an invitation the Wayne gala.

Pearl, who was still with her family, had straight up threatened that if she didn’t go, she would have found her and made sure that Laurel didn’t drink even a single drop of hot cocoa for the following three months.

Babs had given her a few suggestions about what to do and what not to do.

And Judith had told her that they should start working on matching outfits.

_**‘It’s a ridiculous idea’**_ Laurel had messaged back, thinking about having a bit of fun since she was stuck in such an uncomfortable situation _‘… you should wear a blue dress and I a red one, that would be truly matching’._

_**‘Bold of you to assume that just because I am laid in bed with Damian sleeping on me, I won’t come over to you right now and break your nose, Laurel’**_ had texted back Judith, but then she had sent a picture of **Damian in his bat onesie, that Laurel had gifted him for Christmas** _‘… please tell me this isn’t the cutest thing ever. I swear to God, he tried to threaten Tim at the table tonight and… Dick had to excuse himself not to laugh in his face’._

_‘I know my gifts are the best thing ever’._

_**‘You got me a Nightwing action figure’** _

_**‘Again, BEST GIFTS EVER’.** _

She was halfway through asking Judith where she had set up the Nightwing action figure, when her computer signaled an incoming call and Jason’s username, _‘Jason the one form “Heathers” ‘._

Laurel moved quickly to snatch up the computer and bring it onto her stomach, meanwhile she adjusted on the couch on which she was slouched down comfortable, as she waited for her dinner to be heated up in the microwave.

Jason’s face appeared too close to the screen, probably since he was noticing whether the connection was working on or not, due to the fact the place in which he had bene stuck for that week had been quite affected by various weather problematics.

But thank God Babs had managed to do her best, to make sure that Jason could video-call her at least once a day.

She honestly had never understood how much she missed seeing Jason, till she got him to see him on the small screen of her new computer, thankfully gifted by the beautiful man on the screen.

**Laurel did feel a bit spoiled.**

**And giddy.**

And she couldn’t help but think that this would end up badly.

_**“… baby”**_ muttered Jason once he set himself back, his computer set up on a small coffee table, meanwhile she sat back relaxed **on their own messy couch** , his legs spread and those beautiful thighs in full view _**“… oh shit, caught you in a self-care moment”.**_

Yeah, the homemade and awfully smelling mask on Laurel’s face definitely signaled that.

_**“You should just grab something and do face-masks with me!”**_ she suggested softly, taking in the pretty form of the beautiful vigilante, on the screen.

It wasn’t simply the fact that _Jason was such a pretty sight_ (which Laurel did tell him a lot, just to see him blush and for him to use the reverse uno card on her and start complimenting her) **but it was the vulnerability of watching and being watched.**

And the fact that Laurel think that they very much had a voyeurism/exhibitionism kink.

_“Ah, I would love to! I actually miss having our little self-care moments and the mess you make, that I always have to clean up”_ Laurel was halfway through protesting, but Jason and his shit-eating smirk just had to go further _“… is the house a mess, yet? Because two months without me are tough on our little apartment… I am sure”._

Laurel could almost forgive Jason for the fact that he had just called her a mess, after he called their apartment _‘ours’_.

She was definitely getting corny.

_**“… it is actually pristine clean”**_ mostly because she had basically been there just a few days, since Gordon had wanted her over to his house on the 26th and the Waynes had just appeared in her house with various leftovers that allowed Laurel not to mess up the kitchen too much.

Her room was another question.

But she honestly had at least a few more weeks till Jason came back, so she would have gotten rid of any of the incriminating proofs.

_**“I’ll believe it, when I see it”**_ at that Laurel did flip him off, but he simply sent a kiss to the camera _“… so, how was your day, sweetheart of mine?”._

_**“… absolutely boring…”**_ Laurel lightly and wantonly stretched and it didn’t go unnoticed to her the way Jason had to readjust himself on his own couch, definitely following each movements with a keenness that made her smirk a bit _“… actually… I had a bit of a surprise by Steph”_.

_**“Did she come to give you the shovel talk?”.** _

_“Actually, nobody of your family has come to give me the shovel talk”_ honestly, they had been giving her the _‘please don’t think we are creepy’_ talk _“… yet”._

_**“Those little shits”**_ but it wasn’t said with any true annoyance and Laurel had this feeling that her own filter on the Batfam’s actions towards Jason helped him feel a bit comfortable about them.

**Although he still wasn’t completely comfortable around them.**

_“… but… she did come to give me a gala invitation”_ ok, maybe Laurel could manage to get Jason to come up with a good enough excuse that wouldn’t get anybody offended in his family and would have avoided her being randomly kidnapped by Cass and Judith _**“… the New Year’s Eve, Bruce organizes…”.**_

Jason’s eyes prompted Laurel to say something more.

_**“… and ahem… I am trying to come up with an excuse to avoid it”.** _

Jason now looked at her with understanding and fuck if Laurel missed him so so much that she just felt the need to lightly reach out to the screen, pushing her hand onto it.

And she was a bit startled when Jason did the same but welcomed the gesture softly with a silly smirk on his handsome face.

_**“Laurel… free alcohol”**_ he muttered light, completely disrupting the moment, much to her annoyance.

_“… why do you think I am some kind of alcoholic?”._

_“Because I have a video of you serenading me when we went to that nice pub on…”_ oh shit, she was thoroughly screwed.

_**“Now, I either marry you or that secret will be out in the open”**_ Laurel muttered lightly, as she facepalmed herself to Jason’s grinning face.

_“… get the white dress, ready, ‘Rel”._

_“You can’t say this kind of things when I don’t know where you are and you aren’t on your knees with a ring in your hand”_ Laurel retorted promptly, pushing a bit of her mother’s usual haughty tone in the mix, much to Jason’s amusement **who did go down on his knees**.

And much to Laurel’s embarrassment.

_**“… do I look good on my knees for you?”.** _

_“Yeah”_ it made the muscles of his chest just be more evident _“… I mean… kind of can’t get on my knees for you, considering I fucked up my knee when I was on the track team, in college”._

Jason’s wiggling eyebrows definitely told you that he felt no need for you to go down on his knees for him.

**And that he was very much considering other options.**

_**“… but, if you do go to the gala, I promise to delete the video”.** _

_“Are you threatening me, Jason?”._

And honestly, she couldn’t help but be a bit surprised that Jason didn’t back up her need to avoid galas at any cost, considering that he didn’t fancy them firsthand, but she guessed that he might think that she was losing onto something not attending the one she had been invited to.

_“More like blackmailing you, babe”_ his open behavior suddenly receded back as a tighter semblance appeared on his face **“… part of the job, don’t you know”.**

Laurel was mostly kept in the shadows of what the Red Hood did, mostly for her own safety and most of the time all she could do was read **his consequences** **on his own body and suits** **or in the daily newspapers.**

**So, she indeed knew that Jason was able in the kind of art of blackmailing Gotham’s richest.**

_**“… please tell me, that you haven’t set up anything for the gala**_ ” Laurel begged lightly, worried that he just wanted her to attend **to be out of danger from something that he was planning,** considering that if the whole family was there wouldn’t have been a safe place for her _**“… because I swear to fucking God, Jason Todd…”.**_

**“Baby, baby, baby”** well his persuasion techniques were definitely effective as he lightly chided her, waggling a finger in front of the camera _**“… I am not going to be back in Gotham for at least a few weeks, so don’t worry about me trying to set you up somewhere”.**_

_“I know you wouldn’t”._

Jason hated the thought of her in danger as much as he hated the thought of having to come to face with the knowledge that his family still loved him.

So, Laurel knew that he wouldn’t have used her for his own schemes.

**But would he have been above manipulating her out of danger, if shit in Gotham went down?**

Absolutely no.

**“… good”** Jason’s voice was soft, and his gaze wasn’t meeting yours _“… I just want you to enjoy a nice time without being alone on the 31st, as simple as that truly”._

_**“Galas aren’t my things”**_ you blurted out lightly _“… I mean… I am used to them by now and probably have developed some Pavlovian reaction to the sound of cameras flashing, but I just… they aren’t my thing”._

Jason couldn’t exactly chastise you for such a thought, but it was obvious that there was more left unsaid about such a matter as he changed subject to ask whether the computer, he had gotten you was up and running and informing you **that he had actually another gift to give to you.**

_**“If you say what I think you are going to say, I am cutting it off”**_ you threatened him, seeing that smartass smirk appear on Jason’s face _“… I swear to God that sometimes I think that even if you didn’t go to college you have the mentality of a frat boy”._

More like a whole shield to avoid Laurel noticing the broken and crumpling pieces behind him.

The one that Laurel wanted to gently scoop up to show him that they were part of him and because of that equally beautiful.

_“… I was actually going to say that I would have given you a hint about It but considering that you just threatened cutting my dick off, I’ll let you suffer”._

_**“Bold of you to assume I will”.** _

_“Laurel, you pestered him to know about all the superheroes I know about”_ he commented tightly, as Laurel tried to keep a last bit of respect for herself, with an annoyed expression, dismissing him completely _**“… you aren’t patient in the slightest”.**_

_“And can you seriously stop yourself from giving up, once… I do… this…”_ and her eyelashes fluttered lightly, meanwhile her mouth pushed itself in the most adorable frown Laurel could come up with _**“… pretty please, Jason…”.**_

He had gone straight up red and moved lightly his legs to change the position, meanwhile she smirked wickedly and knowingly back to the screen, adjusting on the sofa, as Laurel checked your phone to see how much time had passed.

_**“You are a minx”**_ he shot back, as his tongue darted out lightly from between his lips.

And now, it was Laurel’s turn to stare attentively at the movement.

_**“… but… you still get nothing”.** _

_**“You get nothing, when you come home, Jason Todd!”**_ Laurel threatened him, completely losing any attempt at being posed she had ever had, risking of sending her new computer crashing onto the ground _“… and let me tell you, my gift for you… is… wait for it… fucking legendary!”._

Laurel expected Jason to be smiling even more smugly, but he simply looked surprised by her admission.

**Was it possible he hadn’t expected that you would get him a gift?**

Had Jason even gotten a gift in the Christmases he had spent away from her?

Ok, that was very depressing to think about, because Laurel hoped that his family, as much as he pushed it away, had let him know that they loved him and showered him in gifts, like he deserved.

**But he just seemed a bit hesitant, as silence fell onto the video-chat.**

_**“Nothing special…”**_ the small thankful smile on his face definitely told her that she could have given him a piece of used paper and he would probably be happy _“… I mean… I did bother Willis to get it, but yeah… nothing as special as you getting me this computer and your family…”._

_“I told you…”_ Jason’s face was one shit-eating grin that made you aware he was making full fun of her _**“… I told them to leave you alone, they were the ones who had to come to you and bother you… and by the way… I know that you don’t mind, but if they bother you, I can…”.**_

_“I do think that even if we don’t end up together…”_ Laurel didn’t miss Jason’s sad expression that flashed on his face for a few minutes _**“… I am still getting invited for Thanksgiving”.**_

_“As you should, also because Alfred does a mean pumpkin pie, totally worth it…_ ** _but you know what?”_** she was lured in by the question as she shook lightly her head in her hands, hypnotized with the way the tank top Jason was wearing showed off his arms _**“… you should go to the gala”.**_

_“Fuck you”_ it was so empty of any anger, **that Jason blew her a kiss.**

And Laurel even did the dumbass move of accepting it.

They were two dumbasses in love.

_“… think about it, alright baby?”_ his eyes went to the screen, signaling that whatever program he was using to hide this video-chat was slowly finishing its time _**“… you would look dashing in a dress”.**_

Well, Laurel was glad for the detox mask on her face, **because her cheeks were burning up horridly.**

_**“… you would as well”.** _

A shit-eating grin and another kiss and he was off.

And she was alone in her apartment.

Laurel was used to being alone in her apartment.

Nothing that she couldn’t deal.

But after having had Jason so close, and him being ripped away from her, it just felt all so fucking alone.

She just hoped he would come home soon.

Before she lost her mind.

* * *

_**“You can’t joke about galas!”**_ Stephanie was telling her, meanwhile her nail-artist annoyedly gestured for her to put her lacquered hand back into the small UV lamp that was used to dry her nail polish, of a pretty shade of green.

_‘Festive, isn’t it?’_ had mumbled the girl, after having shown to her and Judith the small bottle of the product _‘… with a bit of golden it should be perfect, and it shall match my dress’._

_**“What do you mean, with ‘I don’t have a dress for the gala’?!”**_ she commented, completely ignoring the woman’s suggestions, meanwhile Laurel tried not to move too much as the nail-artist painted a small decoration on her nails, with red polish.

Judith had joked that _‘it was the obvious choice’_ , meanwhile she chose a white and simple nail-polish highlighting both the greyness of her eyes and her tanned complexion, which made Laurel feel a bit envious since the tanned shade she had always owned on her skin had been completely ripped off by the frigid air of Gotham.

_**“I mean that I don’t have a dress for the gala”**_ Laurel repeated pointedly, careful not to raise her voice to attract any attention since the nail saloon was packed to the brim, although none of the people around seemed as filthy rich as the ones that would have attended the gala.

And Laurel was pretty sure the Riddler was a few booths away from them.

_**“… you should have told me!”**_ Stephanie looked more distressed than Laurel by the news _“… we could have had a ‘_ ** _Pretty in pink’_** _bonding moment, meanwhile we chose a dress!”._

_“Stephanie, you are too young to know that movie”_ Laurel was too young to know that movie _“… and by the way, I already told you that I am just waiting to come up with an excuse that is good enough to avoid the gala”._

Stephanie sent her a disappointed look, shaking her head, but she **finally** moved to put her hand underneath the lamp and the nail lady sent Laurel a thankful look.

In that moment Cassandra appeared by Laurel’s side, examining the shade she had chosen as she brought a cup of Starbucks beside Stephanie, waiting for her own turn, after Judith.

Who had clearly heard Laurel.

_**“You aren’t leaving me, behind, puta”**_ the last part of her speech seemed more like a term of endearment, although the rest of the phrase was a threat _“… you don’t understand the amount of rich pendejos that will be there… and the fact that I have to stop Damian from stabbing them, all”._

_**“I do think that I deserve a night off from babysitting”**_ Laurel shot back at that, meanwhile Cassandra gave her approval to her nail art and took the place beside her, as Judith came to seat on the part of the table that wasn’t filled with nail polish bottles and UV lamps _“… you can handle yourselves, you are grown women who owes nothing to no…”._

_**“You don’t understand”**_ Cassandra pointed out properly each word, as if she was slowly tasting whether they sounded proper or not _**“… we can do it, on our own… but we don’t want to”.**_

Well, that made quite a compelling argument.

_She would have been seriously a shitty friend for abandoning them._

**But could she handle an hour of celebrity?**

_She knew she could._

**But it would have been like getting ready for the battlefield.**

And she seriously didn’t have a dress.

Laurel had a few that could be alright.

But not for a gala.

**This was going to be a mess.**

_“She is relenting…”_ muttered Judith to Stephanie, completely ignoring Laurel right in front of her, who couldn’t protest, since the nail lady had basically an iron grip onto her hands, meanwhile she designed a light star on her middle finger _“… I can see it”._

_“Where might we find a dress, in time?”_ the blonde girl continued, meanwhile Cassandra offered a quiet suggestion and Laurel just felt the need to push her head down and just sleep for the rest of the day.

In the end, **they had all moved to her house,** after having gotten their nails ready, so they could come up with a plan that would allow them to get you in a dress, before the 31st would come around.

_Which seemed like an impossible feat considering that it was already the 29th._

Most high fashion shops would have asked a whole week to create **the perfect dress** , adjusting it to the client’s height and weight, but Laurel didn’t have that time and she didn’t want to push herself in something that would have made her seem ridiculous.

So, **Stephanie had had the brilliant idea of searching through her wardrobe,** wanting to see whether she found something that would be appropriate for a gala, commenting on Laurel’s fashion style.

_**‘You dress like a grandma’**_ she had muttered, as she fingered disgustedly one of her comfy _sweaters ‘… do you have anything that isn’t a nightmare of refined woolen’._

_**“First of all, fuck you”**_ Laurel had shot back, gaining control over her sweater and folding it properly, not that her room was in any way proper, but the girls hadn’t dared to utter anything, even more once they had noticed that her unmade bed had a body pillow in it _**“… and secondly: I like to be warm, comfortable and as unsexy as I can be”.**_

_“… which brings us to the devastating situation of you, having nothing to put on for the gala”_ commented Judith with a benevolent smirk on her face, making a badly interpreted imitation of Stephanie who simply huffed and stuck her tongue out, continuing on her search.

_“I am sure that maybe Bruce could push a few favors…”_ and then her hands inched onto something that didn’t seem a fashion nightmare and she pulled lightly on it, revealing a piece of black silk that gilded down her hands swiftly.

**And Laurel’s face shone with true horror.**

The dress was partially kept in a plastic bag to protect it and it was one of the most expensive ones she owned.

She had actually bought it for a school event, when she attended a boarding school in Berlin, but she hadn’t worn it, because as beautiful as it had been on the mannequin, she had always felt like it looked atrocious on her.

_And her mother hadn’t hesitated to highlight all the flaws it showed._

The sole reason why she had brought it with her to Gotham was the fact that since she knew it was quite expensive, so she had thought she might resell it, if she was ever short on money, since it hadn’t ever been worn and it was in pristine conditions, although at least six years had passed since she had bought it.

_**“… is this… is this… a Dior?”**_ Stephanie looked choked, as she brought the dress to light, gently laying it on the unmade bed and looking at it as if they were the sole people in the room _**“… you have a Dior dress! And you are letting it stay in the fucking closet! Laurel Cellini, what is your problem?!”.**_

_“It isn’t in my size”_ she tried to hold back the bitterness in her tone.

She didn’t want to take it out on Stephanie, but she had a rather problematic relationship with that dress.

**The sole sight of it made her want to take some scissors and rip it open.**

_“… we could make a few adjustments”_ commented Stephanie, uncaring of her tone, not out of any cruelty, but more because she was completely enamored with the dress and **nothing else seemed to matter** _“… and it should actually be your size… you should try it on…”._

And she came forward, holding the dress out.

And Laurel cowered away lightly, almost as if it was a blade.

Judith noticed her rigidity and gently pushed herself between her and Stephanie.

_**“Steph… back off…”**_ it was a bit bitter than Laurel would have liked, since she knew that Stephanie meant well.

But she just couldn’t do it.

She could already see the headlines.

_‘Never as pretty as her mother’._

_‘Estelle Cel’s daughter a disappointment’._

_**‘Isn’t she wonderfully plain?’.** _

_“… leave us alone”_ Judith’s tone was commanding, as Laurel felt herself breaking apart completely.

And Stephanie noticed it immediately, and shot her a worried look, meanwhile Cass came to her side.

**“… I am sorry… I didn’t mean to…”.**

_‘You are such a fatass’._

_‘You couldn’t ever be a daughter of mine, even if you shed all the weight you have on you right now’._

_**‘You shouldn’t have ever been born’.** _

_“Not your fault”_ Laurel stammered those words, as Stephanie was dragged away gently by Cassandra, who did comfort the girl, repeating Laurel’s words, meanwhile Judith pushed the dress away from her friend’s sight, careful to gently hold her.

**It felt clumsy.**

Although they considered each other a friend, it was still strange to be so physically close.

They had their own traumas and they recognized that.

_“… need to lay down?”_ it was the most manual thing to do when people were having an attack of some kind.

Laurel shook her head lightly, but did ask for Judith’s help to sit down, mostly to cool herself down and anchor herself to the reality she had been living in and not her past.

_“… I can tell her to back off…”_ Judith’s voice was as nervous as _Steph’s “… I didn’t want to push you into this gala thing, I just… I just didn’t think…”._

_**“… it’s okay”**_ Laurel tried to smile.

_She knew they meant well._

**They always did.**

**And she wasn’t used to it.**

_“I know that I don’t talk much about being raised by a celebrity…”_ because she honestly didn’t want to sound vain.

Because there wasn’t anything to boast about it, truly.

_**“… but let’s just say that I didn’t have the happiest experience of being in public and during events…”.** _

She knew that there were worst moments and worst occasions, but at the same time her therapist had always told her that just because she hadn’t found herself in complete danger or left alone, it didn’t mean that what had happened hurt any less.

_“… paps kind of ignored me till I hit puberty and they weren’t the nicest to me… my own mother wasn’t the nicest to me”._

So, she didn’t want her mother to catch her somewhere and ruin the perfect paradise she had created in Gotham.

She didn’t want the Gotham tabloids to recognize her and write something horrible on her.

She didn’t want Jason to finally realize she wasn’t worth it.

_**“… so, yeah, I am not taking this entire gala well”**_.

Laurel was a bit ashamed to face Judith.

As previously said, they didn’t necessarily talk about their shared trauma together, but Laurel did know that Judith came from the League and was very much as traumatized as Damian, if not more, considering that she had been treated like a blade by everyone around her since the tender age of seventeen.

**She probably thought that Laurel crying for such a thing was stupid.**

But the other girl’s eyes held a rage that wasn’t directed towards Laurel.

_**“You know I can kill your mother for you”.** _

_**“Considering that Jason has made that offer previously, I’ll have to politely decline”**_ she shouldn’t have definitely laughed about this situation _**“… but I do appreciate the thought…”.**_

_**“And fuck paps, honestly”**_ Judith ended up falling down on the ground next to her _“… fucking little shits…”._

_**“Fuck journalists, too”**_ added Laurel, as she twirled lightly her fingers to catch on the elegant nail-art on them _“… I mean… not all of them…”._

A light laughter filled the room, as the girls shared a small daring look.

Before Laurel dared another towards where the dress stood on the bed.

**She honestly wished to just hide it again.**

But it was as out as her own fear about the gala night.

And Judith followed immediately her train of thought, seeing as she was staring at the dress.

_“… you don’t have to come to the gala_ ” she muttered, lowly _“… I’ll handle Stephanie… and Damian… and fuck… also Dick… I was really hope you’d handle Dick, so I wouldn’t have to…”._

_**“… confront your blooming feeling for him?”**_ Laurel teased her, as she shook her head lightly _“… no, I kind of… need to go to the gala… or I won’t get Jason’s gift…”._

_**“You are so materialistic”**_ shot back with a snort Judith, before pushing herself up and offering to help Laurel to her feet _“… but just so you know, I’ll break every paps’ nose, if they come even remotely close to you…”._

_**“Oh, that’s so sweet”**_ croaked Laurel, as she was up, lightly clinging to her friend’s arm, meanwhile Judith sent her an annoyed smile _“… I should have chosen you instead of Jason… you know… you are hotter, you are cooler, and you can truly kick ass”._

_“You could still dump him”_ commented Judith as she got her hands on the dress, handling it delicately and putting it back in the plastic, meanwhile Laurel reached out for it, effectively startling her.

_“… too much work… I already got him a Christmas present”_ she shot back, as her hands folded carefully the dress, holding it gently against her body, trying not to feel the itch of the soft fabric and all the awful things she had been told by her mother when she had first worn it.

She tried to take a moment to think about going to a gala with Judith, smiling to Stephanie and trying to catch up onto Damian.

Joking with Tim and hiding with Duke underneath the table, meanwhile Cass passed them food.

**She could do this.**

Until she couldn’t.

_**“Do promise not to leave me alone”**_ Laurel muttered lightly as she faced Judith, who was a bit taken aback but eventually nodded along.

_**“… you got my word, my lady**_ **” she** even went chivalrously kneeling on the ground _“… and also the midget’s one, believe me, he always manages to smuggle a katana inside these things, and I wonder how the heck he manages to do such a thing…”._

Laurel laughed at that.

_Maybe she could go through this._

**Maybe she could survive one night of her worst nightmare.**

* * *

After the entire thing at her apartment, Stephanie had laid a bit low and even backed off a bit, although she had been happy of Laurel truly joining the gala.

_At her own premises._

One was that they were severely refused from pushing any champagne glass away from her hands.

_**‘You let me drink my sorrows away’**_ she had muttered to Stephanie as they sat down to discuss _‘her rules’._

But Laurel doubted she would have been able to drink anything alcoholic.

She felt enough nervous as the day separating her from the big event went past by.

And not only Stephanie had officially decided to leave her a bit of privacy.

**But also, Jason.**

**They hadn’t been able to properly video-chat in a few days** and mostly went back to communicate through messages, since _**‘the line wasn’t secure enough’,**_ which left Laurel painfully paranoid about not only Jason having lost interest, but also about his own life, although Tim had many times reassured you that he was fine.

But all of this didn’t help with Laurel’s anxiety.

Thankfully, going back to work, she had been able to shift her mind from the terrifying thoughts of what had happened to Jason.

And Laurel had had the wonderful surprise of Jack coming to visit her at work, with his mother.

They had talked with her about all the changes that had been going on since they had first gone in the police station and they seemed both happy enough.

The boy had even left Laurel a special note that she had put nearby her Red Hood action figure.

So, as much as she was stressed and bottling down a lot of stress, Laurel had a way to focus herself wholeheartedly and friends who didn’t want to leave her alone, for which she was thankful.

Her own sister, Victoria, had swooped in with a few suggestions about how to handle such a night.

And with her own matter of gossip that had got Laurel to become quite red, as she listened on Victoria’s questions.

_**‘How did you get to enter a Wayne gala?’.** _

_‘Police stuff’_ she had promptly replied, knowing that a single second of hesitation would have gotten Victoria wondering.

_‘… oh… they are nice to invite all the station…’_ Victoria’s tone wasn’t fully convinced _‘…_ ** _are you going with someone?_** _You told me that Pearl was still on hol…’._

_**“I am going with commissioner Gordon”**_.

Which wasn’t a lie, since the man had indeed offered to pick her up to bring you to the gala, since he was also invited, but you had received the invite from the Waynes themselves.

_“… nothing special, truly… I just don’t want to be alone for Christmas’ Eve”._

Laurel knew it was a low blow.

She was hoping to push onto Victoria’s sense of guilt for not having visited yet.

And it did work.

Her sister backed off a bit, but her doubt about Laurel’s true motivation of being at the gala was still present in her tone.

But she changed the subject onto lighter themes.

_**“… then be sure to get me Dick Grayson’s number”.** _

Laurel found it almost comical that her little sister had a crush for both Dick and his vigilante alias, but she couldn’t fault her.

But she wouldn’t have given Dick’s number, which she already owned.

_“… alright, little sis…_ **_now tell me all about Zatanna_ ** _”._

Changing the subject had helped her a lot, even more because Victoria had been utterly happy of telling her all about her gig with the famous magician, constantly insisting that ‘it seemed so true’.

_“We should go to one of her shows once we are both freer”_ had breathed out Victoria in the phone, meanwhile Laurel adjusted her softly her bed, lightly reaching out to play with the fallen duvet.

_“That would be nice”_ she commented, trying not to get her hopes up again _**“… I am glad your life is good, little sis…”.**_

_“I am also happy yours is alright”_ shot back softly Victoria, her tone so honeyed that Laurel immediately worried for what she would say _**next “… and by the way, I talked with Willis and he mentioned you have someone special…”.**_

_Fuck._

**That bastard.**

He had enrolled Victoria’s help.

That did make her more at unease than having to endure a fucking gala.

It wasn’t that she was worried about Victoria’s judgement.

Who was she kidding? She fucking was.

But to a degree.

**It just felt good to have something for herself.**

To have Jason for herself, for a bit.

_Some insecure part of her was sure that Victoria would have swept in and taken Jason for herself._

**And who could blame him for choosing the most beautiful sister.**

But at the same time, as much as she loved her sister, she knew that Victoria would have brought with her a lot of trauma that she didn’t have neither the time neither the willingness to unfold.

So, she choked her words and ended up the phone call.

* * *

Eventually the day of the great gala had come around and the soft-spoken anxiety, that this kind of events gave her, had started since the morning, troubling her focus and her own stomach.

Not that Laurel had allowed anybody to see such an emotion, meanwhile she worked on the computer and set-up records, as everybody seemed to ready themselves for the big burst that would have been tonight, since they thought that they would have had to deal with half of the Gotham villains, considering the utter chaos that New Year’s Eve was.

_‘Can’t wait to put myself in front of the TV and deal with my own headache’_ had commented one of the youngsters that had gotten the night off, meanwhile commissioner Gordon had been doing nothing other than giving orders to fill in his absence.

_**‘C’mon! Gordon! We need you licking Wayne’s ass, so we can still have all the paid bonuses!’**_ had taunted him Harvey Bullock, meanwhile Jim had gestured to him to ‘ _kindly fuck off’_ and Laurel had taken back the half-empty cup of coffee on his desk.

_‘I don’t want you to have a heart-attack’_ she had muttered lightly, meanwhile he pointedly protested _**‘… Babs told me to do it’.**_

_‘Didn’t know I had a second daughter’_ he had shot back, with a bit of softness that had gotten Laurel to blush.

But it hadn’t reduced her to be speechless, yet.

_**‘What do you think the cards I gave you yesterday were for?’.** _

By the end of her turn, the anxiety had slowly become washing over her in bigger and tougher waves, to the point where it was essential for her to ground herself, with the coldness of a typical Gotham night, going outside with simply her jacket and without her coat and three layers of scarves and hats.

If commissioner Gordon had noticed, he hadn’t told her anything as he accompanied her back home and told her that he would be back in a few hours to pick her up for the gala, having to check up with a few police officers working in the Narrows and having to get himself ready as well.

_‘If… you want to ditch… I know a bar that makes…’_ he had suggested, probably noticing that Laurel’s anxiety had reached the nausea stage and she was positively green.

_**‘I have promised people I would be there’**_ Laurel smiled back sadly.

_**‘Jensen?’** _ **.**

Jim’s smirk was strangely knowing, and it got her worried about what that man knew about her and her relationship, but eventually her anxiety just told her that they either worried about that or about how she would probably ruin the whole gala with her presence solely.

_**‘Still, outside America’**_ she had muttered sadly, being remembered that sadly it had been such a long time since she had last heard about Jason, although she had been filled with visits during those two days, with both the Robins coming to gossip about each other, meanwhile Stephanie and Cass had wanted their own hot cocoa pit-stop.

She and Judith had rewatched the entire first season of ‘Drive to Survive’ on her free day from work.

Dick had even tried to join, but after he had commented about how _‘cool the dark blue cars looked_ ’, they had both kicked him out in the cold.

And yet, nothing seemed to ease the loneliness she felt at night as she desperately waited for Jason to join her.

_**‘… he’ll be back, kiddo’**_ commented lightly the commissioner, before sprinting off and leaving Laurel effectively alone.

Alone with her insecurities and thoughts.

The best way to go through this kind of things, for Laurel **, was setting up a mental list of things that she needed to do** , so that she could both take one thing at the time and both focus on that one for the time being, instead of what her anxiety told her.

First of all, she had a shower, soaking up in the heat till she was sure that she could have passed out by the warmth of the water and the of the air all around her, making her skin appear of a reddish baby pink.

She proceeded to reapply her skincare, aware that her skin wasn’t used to the amount of make-up she’d have on for the whole night.

She used every little bit of focus she had in her body to properly apply all the creams, matching them with the appropriate nightly serums.

Then she dried her hair, adding a few hair products that stopped her hair from appearing as greasy as usual, but not too much..

She didn’t properly need to style her hair, considering she had inherited her mother straight hair, which meant that whatever amount of gel or heat she put on them, they would have ended up being as straight as they were now by the end of the night.

Except the little curl in her bang that made her smirk a bit, as she straightened it with the hair-straightener.

She passed it all over her hair, mostly to ensure they would stay in place, before moving onto pushing them in a soft ponytail to focus on the next task: make-up.

Usually, Laurel didn’t apply a lot of make-up.

This definitely derived from her _ **‘pick me girl’**_ days, but also by the fact that she was definitely lazy and the thought of applying more than a healthy coat of foundation and mascara at 7 a.m. in the morning made her want to go back in the bed for the rest of the day.

During college and thank to her first girlfriend she had definitely experimented a lot more in the make-up department and right now she was super-proud of the few achievements she had reached, although her eyeliner kept on being quite imperfect and mismatched.

She got the best deal, before she could transform in a racoon and moved onto applying both all her face products, making a mental note to apply a good amount of concealer to her eyebags, _which were definitely designer_.

Probably Celine, considering they were big and black.

Laurel had her own fun with the highlighters, definitely dabbing it a bit more than she should have, but she liked the way they shone in pretty colors over her face, highlighting the greenish shade in her eyes that now held a more feline shape.

**She did feel a bit hot.**

And held a small mirror concert as she put on her ‘ ** _feel good’_** **playlist** , definitely not stolen from Victoria, but she definitely chanted along Britney Spears, as she prepped lightly her blush on her cheeks and then finished everything with a small splash of setting spray.

Jewelry was next and honestly was there solely for the fact that Laurel was trying to delay the fateful moment of dressing up.

She definitely couldn’t go there naked.

_‘Yeah, a dress that you hate for all the wrong reasons is definitely better than going out in your birth suit’_ **she tried to deal with her own anxiety that way** , knowing that rarely she could start a rational discourse with it.

And neither she could do it this time.

So, she did it slowly, reaching her room with her breath coming short and shallow and then moving to where the dress stood, since she had ironed it the previous day (and managed to feel only a bit nauseous) and looked at her as a challenger.

And she wasn’t backing off, this time.

**Laurel got this.**

She closed her hand as she passed her hand over the expensive material, imagining it being wholly different.

Imagining herself not feeling as awkward in that dress.

And straining away from the thought of imaging herself wholeheartedly different, the version her mother had wanted, because that would have made her just go through a shitload of trauma that she didn’t want to witness that night.

A big breath and gulp later, and Laurel finally found the courage to push the dress down her body and to shakily adjust it, till it clung perfectly to her figure, a sensation that felt a bit less uncomfortable than she had thought and she lightly opened her eyes, turning to the mirror inside her open wardrobe, lightly admiring herself.

**Honestly, it could have been worse.**

The dress wasn’t as bad as she had thought.

Laurel certainly didn’t own the confidence to wear it, just yet, but it was safe to say that she was rocking the _**‘pretty heiress’ style**_ , and she decided to fill it with stockings and a coat, feeling a bit more confident as she managed to gently cover up the dress.

If she didn’t think about it, maybe her anxiety would give her a pause.

That was definitely too optimistic.

But still, she was able to keep her anxiety at bay.

_For the moment._

The waiting for Jim was the worst part, mostly because it left her without things to do, after she had set up her small bag and put on her shoes, taking a few laps around the house to calm down herself and try to wobble as little as she could on the heels.

She hadn’t worn them in so long that she had honestly forgotten how to walk in them, although she had to admit that it made her feel good to be a bit taller than usual.

She probably could reach Jason’s shoulder with the ten-inch stilettos.

And almost as if summoned by her thought, her computer flashed alive, signaling an incoming call and Laurel rushed to it, as fast as she could on heels, setting it up on the bed, as she adjusted on it, comfortably, coming to face with Jason, just out of the shower.

Well, that did distract her.

_**“Hello there, pretty lady”.** _

Laurel wished that she could say the same, but her tongue was painfully stuck as she followed with her eyes the small driblet of water that fell down from Jason’s hair and onto his prominent collarbones, with an almost childish curiosity.

_**“… cat got your tongue?”.** _

_“More like a bastard got my tongue”_ Laurel managed to find a bit of her fire, sending him a quick look, before shaking off her head and trying to focus on it _**“… did you forget that you could call me or…?”.**_

_**“Don’t worry, baby, there isn’t anyone but you”**_ Jason shot back, as he pushed himself back against the couch, which Laurel had never seen during their video-chat, but she guessed he must have simply changed the safehouse at which he was staying _“… just had some stuff… but now… why don’t you give me a twirl of the dress”._

Laurel shot him off quickly and annoyedly but did set up the computer a bit better so that he could take in her more properly and stilling herself, she twirled lightly, giving him a full view of the whole outfit.

The dress was asymmetric, and it resembled the twenties shapeless flapper dresses, but the fabric heightened in some way Laurel’s curves, bringing attention to her hips and shoulders, with a slight black cleavage where small silver inserts brought more attention to her naked skin.

_She felt a bit silly in it._

She certainly fit in it now a bit better than when she had first bought it, but it definitely was still very out of her comfort zone.

**But, when she turned to Jason, his mouth was left open, hanging.**

And his eyes were set on the screen, perfectly trailing from the bottom of the dress to Laurel’s face, sparkling with utter fascination that she couldn’t help but blush lightly and twirl around a bit more, giggling childishly and it didn’t take long for Jason to clap loudly and even whistle.

_**“Fuck!”**_ it was so sudden that it caught Laurel mid-twirl, risking of her tripping on her own feet _“… you look so gorgeous, baby… like… fuck fuck fuck…”._

_“Are you able to say anything other than_ ** _‘fuck’_** _?”_ Laurel teased him lightly, once she settled back on the bed, comfortably dragging herself closer to Jason _**“… and it isn’t my fault that you are a few countries apart…”.**_

_**“Don’t remind me”**_ he grumbled, shifting his gaze away from the screen, guilt showing in his eyes.

And Laurel wouldn’t have it.

_“… you know… if you… were here, you could have put the dress on me”_ she smirked suggestively, effectively distracting Jason from his guilt, as his eyes immediately shifted on the screen and a huge smirk appeared on her face _**“… and you haven’t seen the best part”.**_

Laurel couldn’t seriously believe that she was sexting with this idiot.

_**“Show me”**_ that got him a little quirked eyebrow _“… c’mon…. just give me something to keep warm at night…”._

“I guess” Laurel allowed it lightly, pushing again herself to her feet, to gently push the skirt of her dress up, allowing Jason to notice the slight straps of the garter belt, since, as much as she hated the thought of the straps and it was an awful employment of energy that would go to waste in an hour, she felt a bit more confident with it on.

**She felt sexy in them.**

_And the smile of utter happiness on Jason’s face definitely made her feel confident._

Fuck, maybe she felt pretty.

_“… just so you know, I’ll need you to wear that for when I come back”_ muttered Jason, making Laurel blush as she tried to shush him off _**“… no, ‘Rel… you don’t understand… I am about to… baby… you… fuck…”.**_

_“Am I that sexy?”_ Laurel teased him, lightly as she seductively walked on her heels _**“… enough to finally shut you up”.**_

_“You wish you had shut up…”_ threatened her Jason, with mischief glinting in her _**eyes “… when I come back, and I don’t let you out of the bedroom for days…”.**_

_**“Promises, promises, promises”**_ she teased him, completely ignoring him _“… I haven’t been fucked yet, so I think I am allowed to be a bit of a brat”._

Whatever effect those words were supposed to have, it was completely ruined by Laurel’s red cheeks.

Not that Jason seemed to notice it, as he readjusted on the chair he was sat on.

**Laurel did dart a daring gaze onto his pants.**

And well, she found she wasn’t the only one who was getting worked up by all of this.

And then her phone blinked up, showing that commissioner Gordon was waiting for her, outside of her car.

Definitely, perfect timing.

_“… ok, my chariot has arrived, so I’ll leave your horny ass”_ Jason protested lightly, but eventually sent a kiss to the camera of the computer and Laurel returned the soft gesture.

_“Have a good night!”_ he said last to her and then the line went dead.

And Laurel felt a bit cold.

But the show must go on, after all.

**And she had the promise of not leaving the bedroom, once he came back.**

If he came back to her.

* * *

Inside Jim’s car, Babs was waiting for her in a glamorous green lime green dress that definitely heightened the red of her hair, making her absolutely beautiful.

And Laurel made a point to tell her, after a small hug.

_**‘Ah, don’t even start!’**_ had retorted the redhead, meanwhile Laurel tied the safety belt around her waist and chest _‘… you look truly amazing! The dress is wonderful, truly’._

She had gently fingered the fabric, meanwhile Laurel blushed pitifully, glad when Jim swept in to ask whether _‘they all had their seatbelts on or not’_ , making both the girls huff as Barbara insisted that _**‘they weren’t children, anymore’.**_

_**“… dad, I am actually almost thirty”**_ had muttered Barbara, meanwhile Laurel simply glared at him through the rearview mirror, and this time it was the man who replied annoyedly with a huff of his own, before speeding off.

They settled on listening to music, meanwhile Barbara kept up a polite chatter about what had been happening at the police station and whether Laurel had gotten along well with her new computer.

_‘You could swing to the house one of these days’_ she had suggested softly _**‘… could teach you a few things, since I am on a break’.**_

_‘I think that you have already done too much for me’_ had tried to deflect Laurel, just for Jim to jump in, insisting that he would also love to have Laurel over here.

_**‘You could get us some muffins, if you are worried of bothering us’**_ he had finished the matter, leaving Laurel with no other choice than accepting that invite, meanwhile she smirked a bit about it.

Once they had reached the place where the entire thing was supposed to take place, Jim had parked in the backside, where only a few cars were set up so they wouldn’t catch too much attention from the reporters and journalists at the front, entering through a service door, also because it would have been easier for Babs.

Both she and Jim helped her with the wheelchair and gave the redhead a few minutes to readjust her dress, before swinging inside, finding themselves in the middle of the gala.

Although many people didn’t seem too interested in their entrance, the atmosphere was crowding enough that it completely hit Laurel as she felt a bit of panic hit her.

The lights were too bright and the voices too high.

Barbara reached out lightly grazing her right hip and it definitely shook her out of the trance.

_“Everything alright?”_ Barbara didn’t look too convinced as Laurel nodded and gave her a soft smile _**“… need a bit of air?”.**_

_“Pretty sure that what I need isn’t air…”_ muttered Laurel as Jim left them to set down your coats.

_“… if you need a cocktail, I’d suggest moving to the open bar, before…”_ and Barbara’s eyes filled with annoyance as Laurel saw the reflection of a photograph in them, before a flash caught them _**“… before the vultures descend…”.**_

**“Goodnight, ladies!”** Vicky Vale’s voice definitely shook them awake and Laurel hoped that keeping her back to the journalist, she would get the hint they weren’t interested _“… Bruce Wayne definitely appreciates the police, having you and your father here, Mrs. Gordon”._

_**“And I appreciate you leaving me the fuck alone, Vicky”**_ Babs’ tone was glacial in a way that got even Laurel to shiver lightly, but Vicky completely ignored it _“… I thought you weren’t here to work, but as a guest?”._

Vicky must have pouted at that reprimand, because Barbara’s smile was definitely brighter.

_“… just trying to make the most of it all…”_ muttered the journalist, and Laurel could perfectly feel the moment her gaze settled on her back _**“… and Mrs. Cellini! Oh Gosh, I wasn’t sure it was you! As glamorous as your mother”.**_

Laurel did turn around at that, and as much as Vicky’s smirk wasn’t venomous, it wasn’t completely honest.

_“Mrs. Vale, a pleasure to see you”_ Laurel was almost glad for her acting lessons.

She held a somber smile, as her hands put themselves on her hips, wanting to appear as open as possible.

And yet, not wanting the other woman to take advantage of her for that.

_**“… are you here for your mother?”**_ well, that was one of the reasons why she was dreading that moment _“… have you heard of your sister’s latest successes? Although you’ll have to admit that her climb to success is rather… slow…”._

_**“My family matters don’t concern me at the moment**_ ” her tone was as cold as possible, tight in the way it brought Vicky’s fake smile to disappear from her face _**“… I am here for my own matters, and I’d rather if you don’t ask me about my family, out of respect”.**_

Babs beside her was positively glowing and she was sure that hadn’t the redhead thought it to be somehow not classy, she would have given her thumbs up.

_**“Then why are you…?”.** _

_**“Vicky!”**_ Judith’s voice took them all by surprise, although Laurel was completely fascinated by the tight fabric of her white dress, which heightened the perfect figure of the girl and her light eyes _**“… haven’t I already told you not to bother the guests!”.**_

Vicky tried to protest, but Judith simply raised a hand to close the whole conversation, pushing Laurel and Barbara out of the journalist’s hands, although a few more photos were taken.

Once Judith got them both behind the perfect hiding spot, a huge plant that was part of the luxurious décor of the room they had booked for the party, definitely smaller than the few rooms Laurel had seen in the Wayne Manor, _but she could understand why Bruce wouldn’t want so many snakes in his own home._

_“… sorry for not having come before”_ muttered lightly Judith, as she took two glasses from the first waiter who passed their ways, gesturing to Steph, who had come forward to say _**‘hello’**_ , plopping down Laurel’s shoulder _**“… the midget decided it was a good time to try to kill Drake in public”.**_

Tim, who had come after Stephanie, did look a bit shaken and the fact that Laurel couldn’t see Damian, definitely entailed that he might have been put in **‘time out’**.

_**“… you should have seen him, trying to stab him with a spoon”**_ Stephanie commented, meanwhile Tim sent her an annoyed _look “… and honestly, good thing that Jason isn’t here, because you look so beautiful that I might have to just steal you from him, by the end of the night!”._

Laurel blushed at that comment but did bow a bit at the compliment.

_**“By the way, Mr. Bucket, called me!”**_ she shot a quick look to Tim since she had been hounding him in the latest few days in search of news about Jason and the boy smiled, hiding a bit in Steph’s shoulder.

Not that Laurel could observe much more because Damian appeared and promptly requested all her attention for herself, meanwhile Cassandra and Duke took her flute, the former trying to drink it, just for the latter to get it back.

**And Dick appeared suddenly, stealing the flute and downing it in one go.**

Laurel sent him an annoyed glare, but he simply replied with a charming smile, putting in her hands the empty glass, coming onto Judith, who allowed him to lay softly his head on her shoulder, as an old lady came forward, definitely searching for the bachelor.

And to remain shocked as she found him, draped across a younger lady.

Not that it told her to back off, in any way, **but Judith’s glare definitely served that purpose** , pushing her away with a smirk that promised a blade in her chest.

Laurel laughed as the old lady relented, furiously, meanwhile all the siblings joined in, cheerily making fun of their older brother, most importantly Damian _went ‘need to hide under Judith’s gown, don’t you, Grayson’._

Just for Judith to go **‘… well, you did the same thing to avoid Bruce a few minutes ago’.**

And it was safe to say that Damian was redder than Cass’ dress.

Although Laurel tried to stay in the moment, she couldn’t help but be a bit sad for Jason’s absence.

He wouldn’t have wanted to go to such an event, but she missed the closeness and the teasing.

Would they go back to it easily?

Or would it be awkward?

Too many questions and too much time spent in her mind.

_**“… Laurel?”**_ Babs’ voice took her aback, as the woman gently pushed on her arm, evidently having noticed that she had dozed off _**“… want me to get another drink?”.**_

_“No, don’t worry”_ she didn’t want to make a fool of herself, although the flute looked very pretty _**“… I am actually going to…”.**_

_**“… you are actually going to dance with me, Laurel”**_ interrupted her promptly Damian, as he eyed the ballroom dance, where a few couples had started twirling and even a few single people seemed to be enjoying a nice moment.

_**“Ahem, midget, you are supposed to be still on time-out”**_ commented Dick, definitely looking ready for another flute, as he kept on hanging from Judith’s shoulder, the girl showing a soft smirk on her face, and both Laurel and Steph sent her a wiggling look.

_**“Such a thing doesn’t apply to an heir of the Al Ghul line and son of…”**_.

Laurel promptly put a hand on his mouth and did proceed to drag him away onto the dance floor, definitely happy to be able to focus on her steps and not on the heavy air all around her.

Damian wasn’t such a bad partner, and Laurel was impressed with the way he knew all the steps, although he had to basically step onto your heels, as she tried to badly withhold laugh.

She got a few dances with every member of the Batfamily, even Cass, who had much more grace than her, and she definitely thought herself blessed by the elegant lady, as she was dipped down suddenly, much to her amusement.

Bruce even snagged a dance and Laurel tried to relax herself, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that she had literally sext his son just a few hours ago and she feared that he could somehow detect that.

Still he just asked her whether she was having fun and that he hoped Damian wasn’t annoying her too much…

_**“… or Jason”**_ she had definitely tensed up and he had noticed it _“… anything wrong?”._

_“Just… distance”_ Laurel tried, lowering her eyes _“… it’s just a bit tough, but I guess it isn’t the end of the world”._

_**“He really, really is enamored with you”**_ ok, that was a bit awkward, but she appreciated that Bruce in all his stiffness was trying to help her _“… and considering that he had a crush on Belle…”._

_**“Wait… like Belle from ‘The Beauty and The Beast’?”**_ Laurel was definitely smirking at that new knowledge as Bruce nodded, almost awkwardly _“… ok, I’ll tease him a lot for that”._

_“Please don’t tell me it was me who let it slip”_ pleaded jokingly Bruce as they slowly were forced to exchange partners, with Jim gently dragging her in a loose hold _**“… we already don’t have the best relationship”.**_

_**“My lips are sealed”**_ she had muttered as Jim sent her a quick questioning look but softly shook his head, letting the conversation go.

She got even Judith to join the dance floor, the girl being a bit still, but eventually warming up as they badly tried to recreate the macarena in their precious dresses and under Bruce’s judging gaze.

And time passed, with Laurel definitely feeling a bit more there than in her mind, till the clock struck around eleven and thirty, signaling that soon the new year would roll around.

She was halfway through getting out for a bit of air, when Tim caught up to her, gently grabbing onto her elbow to drag her in a more secluded area.

_**“… something came up…”**_ in the end, Laurel had almost forgotten that she was in Gotham after all _“… the Riddler… the little shit… he came up with a new way to torment us, a riddle in… Latin… Jason mentioned that you know it…”._

“Yeah, I mean… I don’t remember much, but…” before she could even properly agree, Tim had dragged away from the halls, as Judith sent her a light look, something in it making Laurel’s body stand at attention, but she then ended up focusing on the rambling boy _**“… what I am trying to say is that if you need help, I am game”.**_

**“Good”** was that a smirk? _“… we need to get on the roof, Bruce is already there, and the connection is better there”._

Honestly that sounded weird, but Laurel just wanted to help, so simply nodded, and followed after Tim as they reached the upper floor of the building where the party was being held.

She cursed for having forsaken her coat, as the cold air of the December night hit her disheveled figure.

The roof seemed almost empty as they came across it, and Tim gentlemanly helped her on her heels to step out of the private elevator, but none of his gestures seemed even lightly rushed as they would be if the city was suddenly in danger.

As he usually was when he dropped by Laurel’s window.

But maybe it was just the partying that held him back, _since they were, after all, in a building full of civilians._

**Laurel, herself, was a civilian.**

But then she understood, as Tim grabbed her gently again, turning her to him, before she could search the roof for Bruce.

_“… before… we go further…”_ he seemed out of breath as his smile showed excitement _**“… there is no riddle from the Riddler”.**_

She was halfway through protesting, when Tim turned her around.

And she saw who was waiting for her on the rooftop, instead of Bruce.

**Jason.**

Her Jason.

It was useless to say that her body reacted faster than her.

And soon she was rushing to him, ignoring completely the heels, his tailored suit and the fact that Tim was still very much there.

**She just wanted to hug him, before that illusion could disappear in this smoke.**

Because she was sure it was an illusion.

And the Laurel’s face collided with a good wall of abs.

_Ok, he was real._

**Her Jason was there.**

_**“Fuck, sweetheart, warn me next time”.** _

Again, her body was faster than her mind, as she delivered a light slap at his chest.

_**“Fuck you”**_ she muttered, as she found her eyes meeting his blue ones.

She had expected awkwardness, uneasiness, maybe even rejection.

But meeting him again just felt natural.

She just hoped he felt the same.

_**“… what are you doing, here?”**_ Laurel asked, once she got over the initial shock, although she refused to raise her head from his chest, since it would have meant a confront, she wasn’t ready for.

_“Aren’t you happy to see me?”_ he simply commented, and his laughter rumbled in his chest _**“… I mean… I wanted to see what was under the dress”.**_

_**“… and that is my cue to leave**_ _”_ muttered Tim, reminding them both pointedly that he still was there _“Have fun, lovebirds!”._

It took everything in Laurel not to flip him off.

And the fact that Jason laid a soft kiss on her forehead definitely held her back, planting her in that moment.

_**“… missed you, ‘Rel”**_ his voice made her legs tremble, and she was glad he softly held her back to his chest, comfortably warm and utterly satisfied at the thought that he was back _“… missed you so much that I couldn’t wait for a few days longer… I finished the work a few days ago and flew in here…”_

Laurel now shot him a surprised look, finally meeting those gorgeous blue eyes.

That explained why they had been so pushy about her taking part at the gala.

And why Jason hadn’t talked with her, during those days.

_**“… and then I thought I’d have to surprise you in a proper way”**_ his smile was so amazingly beautiful that it just left her breathless _“… roped in the family to have you all for me here”._

**Nobody had ever done something like that for her.**

_And Laurel had worried Jason wouldn’t have wanted her anymore, once he came back._

_“… sorry for not having replied to you, but it would have spoiled the sur…”._

A choked sob left Laurel’s lips.

And Jason rushed to console her, a million questions leaving his lips, as Laurel gently escaped his arms, but reassured him it wasn’t his fault.

_**“It’s just a… lot to proceed”**_ the fact that maybe, just maybe she was loved _“… I never thought that … this… I didn’t expect you to come back still in love with me”._

Jason now looked almost hurt by her comment, as if he was implying that he was so fickle.

It wasn’t that she had such a low consideration of him.

**It was just that she wasn’t used to be loved this way.**

_**“… I just… I just have never felt so happy and yet… so… scared… sorry, I am not happy and cheery…”**_ she was ruining the moment and she knew it.

_**“You don’t have to ever be happy or cheery, if you aren’t, when you are with me”**_ replied lightly Jason, as his gaze became steely holding her in place as the words pushed themselves in him _“… the greatest honor you can give me is sharing your hurtful and painful thoughts with me”._

_**“I’d prefer to share kisses with you”**_ she tried to dismiss that hurtful thematic and Jason allowed her, gently giving her forehead another kiss and every fuss disappeared from her mind _“… I truly missed you, bastard, don’t go away for so long, anymore”._

_**“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be here for as long as you’ll have me”**_ he promised her, with a smirk _“… which is probably for ever, considering you can’t reach anywhere in our kitchen”._

_**“I was joking, please go away”.** _

She faked of going away, just for him to bring her back together, smashing her against her chest and holding her there, as a thrilling voice told them that only ten minutes separated them from the new year.

_**“… don’t even try, I love your apartment too much to let it go!”**_ replied harshly Jason, but he did turn her around softly, coming to face her as soft music could be heard in the distance, probably signaling they had ended up starting the slow dances.

And Jason didn’t miss the chance to hold you gently in his arms, softly moving his feet beneath her as sher mimicked him, looking up at him, meeting his eyes halfway as Laurel held his gaze.

_**“I truly missed you, ‘Rel”**_ it was so soft that it could be lost in the night _“… you have no fucking idea how much I missed you”._

_**“… maybe I have a half idea…”**_ and she commented lowly, her eyes darting low on her shoes, as her insecurities all came back, but before she could properly get lost in them, Jason pushed a hand underneath her chin, making her look back again.

_**“I have come back home, to you”**_.

It was hauntingly clear, and she held his gaze for a bit longer this time, feeling his breath become closer and closer, and she gently closed her eyes, waiting for the soft touch his lips promised.

And he didn’t make Laurel wait, for once.

It was gentle and soft.

Treating her like glass, with the same worry of breaking her as of being hurt by her shattered pieces.

But it was what was left unsaid between them that mattered.

**He was back.**

**He was physically back.**

**And he chose her.**

**He wanted her.**

**And she wanted him, as well.**

The scream for the five minutes to midnight made them break apart, and although it was a chaste kiss, they found themselves trying to relax their breathing, but not disentangling from the loose hug they were in.

_**“Couldn’t you wait a few minutes to be my midnight kiss?”**_ Laurel just had to tease him.

He had left her for six weeks!

_He could take a bit of teasing._

And although Jason did huff out loudly, he smiled back at here and adjusted a bit of hair that had fallen down her trembling shoulders, offering her the jacket of his suit.

A red one that definitely matched his whole aesthetic.

And made him so handsome that maybe, just maybe the distance did make the heart grow fonder.

As designer suits.

They were halfway through meeting for another kiss, when Laurel’s phone (she would have preferred to sell a kidney than a leave her phone behind) started ringing and Jason sent her an annoyed look, meanwhile she rushed to answer it, surprised it was Stephanie.

Didn’t she know that Laurel and Jason were probably making out?

_**“Is it an emergency?”**_ Laurel asked after she answered the call _**“… did Damian set fire to anything?”.**_

_“Wouldn’t be the first time it happened”_ commented Steph _**“… ahem, by the way no, Bruce just wanted to know if you and Jason wanted to join us for the New Year’s toast”.**_

Well, that definitely explained it.

Laurel sent a quick look to Jason who had heard the entire call, since they were quite close, and Stephanie was definitely shouting over the music.

_“… we are doing it in one of the private rooms”_ continued Steph _**“… I know Jason doesn’t want to show us his ugly face”.**_

Jason did flick her off a bit, at that.

_**“… Bruce says that he won’t cry if you don’t accept but I can see the tears”.** _

Jason grabbed the phone and put it to his ear, and answered in Laurel’s stead:

_**“We are coming, annoying purple”**_ uttered Jason, closing the conversation after asking her to send the location of the room, just as Steph was starting to protest against the annoying _ **‘nickname’**_.

Jason put the phone back in Laurel’s pochette, tucking her closer in his suit, the sight of it, definitely showing you that he enjoyed her in it.

He enjoyed seeing his sign on her.

_**“… we need to talk, once we are back at home”**_ she told him, a serious look in her eyes, as her hands gently settled down on his cheeks, before pushing up on her toes to lay a soft kiss on his lips _**“… understood?”.**_

_“Yes, ma’am”_ Jason muttered a bit taken aback, before taking your hands as you rushed to get to the room they were supposed to toast in, avoiding almost as two spies all the paps, and laughing like crazy, as if they hadn’t ever been away.

**They arrived one minute before the midnight** and Babs literally threw a flute their way, meanwhile they all pushed themselves together in the small office, coming together to clink the glasses together.

Bruce seemed surprised by Jason’s appearance, but his expression definitely softened as he noticed Laurel’s hands tucked in his.

_**“Then, since we are all in here…”**_ Bruce started, catching everyone’s attention, as Laurel’s eyes passed swiftly over everyone on the room.

Dick, Damian and Judith were standing on one side, slightly smirking among themselves and Laurel saw the way Dick gently brought the girl closer with a hand on her waist, meanwhile Babs, Steph and Tim were standing on the opposite side, cheering onto Bruce’s discourse.

Duke and Cass were sat on the desk, the sole thing holding them back from swallowing down the flute in their hands were the few looks from Alfred, who held the champagne bottles and sent Laurel and Jason a small knowing smirk, that got them both to blush.

_“… this year has been difficult…”_ a sigh definitely signed that they all already knew _that “… but we have had a few good things happening too…”._

**“Bruce cut it short!”** shouted lightly Steph, meanwhile Babs elbowed her **“… we want to get wasted!”.**

Cass seemed to agree, her lips gently pushing on the flute, just for Alfred to remind them both that they were underage.

_**‘… the flutes are for show’**_ had commented the butler, with a pointed look to the underage folk in the room.

Not that anybody seemed to care, considering that Damian’s haughty expression became even haughtier.

_**“… of course”**_ commented completely unconvinced Duke, meanwhile Bruce regained everybody’s attention.

_**“… what is important is that we are all together”**_ Jason huffed beside Laurel, but she felt how his whole stance relaxed next to her, as she leaned gently on his shoulders _**“… and as long as we have our family, we have ever…”.**_

_**“Happy New Year!”**_ screamed Babs, who had been checking the clock, definitely getting all of them to clink their glasses together, meanwhile both Cass, Duke and Steph knocked down the expensive liquid before Alfred could rush in to take them.

Too bad for the, because both Laurel and Jason realized it was just sparkling juice.

**But they all seemed so proud.**

And it was nice for all of them to be together, like that.

Smiling and enjoying each other’s presence.

_“… erything…”_ finished Bruce with an annoyed look, before shaking off his head and joining in the group hug that had been going on among Dick, a disgruntled Judith and a protesting Damian, meanwhile Babs passed a few dollars to Tim with a pointed look at Laurel and Jason.

And Cass’ eyes were definitely set their entwined hands.

They both blushed a bit, lowering their hands, as the room erupted in laughter anymore.

And Laurel realized that she wasn’t afraid anymore.

And neither alone.

It was a long road to reach the end of her insecurities and anxiety.

But she had somebody to share this path with.

So, boldly, Laurel slowly pushed herself on Jason’s lips, to give him her own New Year’s kiss.

And although, at first, he accepted his stiffly a bit uncomfortable about being so out in the open, he gently returned it, his hands immediately entangling with her hair, as it become definitely less chaste than the one on the roof.

_**“We definitely need to go back home”**_ he muttered on Laurel’s lips, as the loud cheers of his family surrounded them.

_**“Definitely”.** _

_**Their house.** _

* * *

**(A/N):** And here is a little preview of what is coming next!

_“Dearly beloved…”._

People take their places on the pews of the church.

The first few pews are left free and the fact that the church is so small just enhances the concept of nobody that close being there, although there is plenty of journalists hounding the ground outside the church, pushed back solely by the threat of a citation from Bruce Wayne.

_“… we are gathered here today…”._

He is in the closest pew to the altar, although his presence in there makes zero sense, considering his religious background, but he can only guess that it matters to somebody he is close with, as he looks in front of him.

_“… to honor the memory of a daughter…”._

Nobody is there to celebrate her as a daughter.

Her mother disinherited her so, there wouldn’t be any way she presented to her daughter’s funeral.

_“… as a colleague…”._

Half the police force turned its back to her when she most needed it.

Aside from Jim Gordon obviously, who is standing beside Bruce.

_“… as a friend…”._

Damian is behind them and the sole reason why he chose not to stand in front with Bruce and Jim is because he doesn’t want anybody to catch him crying,

He can hide himself better in the crowded space behind the two man, held in place by Stephanie, Dick, Cass and Duke.

Babs and Judith are on the opposite row.

There is an empty place between.

_**“… Laurel Cellini”.** _


End file.
